AN: Dear Reader:

If you are reading this story without having read "Bain Felix" first, be aware that there are some characters that were first introduced in that story. Also, Demona now goes by the name "Adelpha" and is permanently held prisoner by the clan because of her past crimes. That's all you need to know about her for this story, because she isn't going to play too big a part in this one. As always, I love to get reviews, even critical ones.

Thanks,

Allegra

Restlessly, Brooklyn looked out over the city from his perch atop the castle's north tower. He and his friends had only just returned from their first patrol a few minutes prior, and the others had cheerfully gone inside to enjoy a meal with their mates, leaving Brooklyn alone and apprehensively waiting for the next patrol. He hadn't wanted to stop and go inside and eat. Yet he realized that he felt hungry for something more than food.

He sighed in frustration, wondering if he should have taken Goliath up on his offer. Xanatos had come to them with the evidence of a new gargoyle clan in Colorado. He'd shown them the photographs of the claw marks, and the shadowy forms on the security video of a decommissioned gold mine and his heart had jumped with excitement. The possibility of a new clan, and so close at that, was thrilling to him! Goliath had offered him the responsibility of leading the discovery mission and Brooklyn realized that he'd thoroughly expected him to crash down the door at the chance of a new adventure away from the city. Brooklyn couldn't explain himself why he'd chosen to stay in New York and dutifully guard their protectorate. Perhaps it was the fact that all of their sisters were nearing egg laying time? Perhaps having been unexpectedly left in charge twice when Goliath had gone on long missions away from home had fashioned him into a devoted homebody? Or perhaps he was afraid of what he would or would not discover if he met another clan? This idea was greatly unsettling, and the irony didn't escape him that he might actually be afraid of fear itself.

He was beginning to wish that Goliath had insisted on him taking Thorn and Bronx to search for more of their own kind in the western mountains. Maybe that was the push he had needed? Brooklyn knew he would never have defied Goliath, nor would he have argued, had Goliath assigned him the task. But that was not his leader's way. He gave Brooklyn a choice and Brooklyn had picked the boring, but more important option; staying behind and protecting the castle, the clan, and their community.

Brooklyn sighed again, swooped from the tower to the courtyard floor, and strode purposefully to the dining room, where he found Lexington and Linnet, smiling at one another in a quiet conversation. Linnet had already laid the first egg of the rookery the week before. She had recovered her strength quickly and rejoined their patrol, but Brooklyn saw that she was changed. Her newfound joy and hope was evident in her every word and movement and it was clearly reflected in the face of Lexington, her mate. They greeted him warmly and invited him to join them at the table for a meal, but with an awkward smile, he selected a can of Coke, and left them to their private conversation.

He made his way toward the common room, where he found Broadway and Blaze, along with Angela and Ophelia, lounging around the fire, each with a plate of lasagna.

"Where are the little ones tonight?" Brooklyn asked his sisters fondly.

"Adelpha took them to the atrium to swim," Angela informed him, "Owen and Alex are with them."

Brooklyn nodded his understanding. Swimming was good exercise for hatchlings. It encouraged them to develop the muscles they would need to control their gliding, once their wings were developed enough. Brooklyn was confident that Adelpha would train the clan's two hatchlings in body and mind and that Owen would see that they encountered no humans as they played. But stubborn concern still lingered in the back of his mind.

He had no doubt that Adelpha loved their children and wanted them to become strong, clever, and confident warriors, but Brooklyn couldn't help but worry that the fear and hatred of humanity that had once ruled her heart would not return one night without warning. In all honesty, he didn't know if that doubt would ever go away for him, no matter how long she served her penance.

"They've gotten so strong!" Ophelia said lovingly of the children, "And they speak so clearly now and both say the cleverest things!"

"Nay, that wee lass says the cheekiest of things!" Blaze corrected with a laugh and Ophelia gave him a critical look.

"Oh, leave her alone, you!" she chided her mate.

"No, he's right," Broadway agreed with a smile, "She's gotten too sassy for her own good!"

"We shouldn't indulge them too much, "Angela added in agreement, though even she was thoroughly prejudiced in favor of the clan's incorrigible little daughter.

"Oh, I can't help it!" Ophelia complained, "They're so precocious and serious in their attitudes, I can't help but laugh, even when they are being a bit insolent!"

"Just don't let them catch you laughing," Angela encouraged her, "That's the secret. Don't let them know how cute they are!"

Ophelia tried to practice a stern face while visualizing the wild antics of the pair of hatchlings. It was not easy. Brooklyn knew the struggle himself, as he was often tasked with attempting to teach the importance of seriousness and focus during their training. He knew Ophelia was soon to place her own first egg in the rookery and was feeling both excited and apprehensive about the idea of new children being born to the clan. Blaze, her mate, was given to making light of matters with humor and was a constant, and sometimes volatile compliment to her seriousness and pragmatism. They were well suited to one another.

When Ophelia had first joined the clan, Brooklyn had let his heart hope that the beautiful and clever female might take a romantic interest in him. It was not to be though. He soon realized that, though he loved her dearly, their souls were far too alike to be mated to one another. They would have only turned one another to melancholy in the end. But she and Blaze were perfect for one another and their devotion and affection were evident, even as they quarreled.

"Will you rest and eat with us, Brooklyn?" Ophelia invited him.

"No," he replied, "I think I'd like to take a glide alone though. I'll take a radio, in case you need me."

"Is everything alright?" Angela asked gently.

"Absolutely," he assured them, "I just need some time alone to think."

The night air was thick and unpleasant over the somewhat brackish water at the southern end of the city. Brooklyn attributed it to an unusual lack of breeze. A dirty dampness seemed to hang in the air around him. He found himself a secluded area of beach across the river from the iconic Manhattan skyline, and stared at the lights until they began to blur in his eyes. He felt like he was waiting for something, but for the life of him, he couldn't think of what. But then, to his surprise, something strange and unexpected approached him.

Far out in the center channel, a large yacht was passing him slowly. From beneath its piercing headlight, he observed a large floating object he could not identify, but there was no doubt that it struck the bow of the boat and scraped down the side. Curiously, Brooklyn stood upright to catch a glimpse of whatever had been struck and left behind by the self-important vessel. To his dismay, he soon saw the signs of something alive, struggling in the water, against the current.

Brooklyn quickly looked around him for something that he might climb in order to get the altitude to glide on almost non-existent air currents, but found nothing close by. Whatever was in the water made no sound as it made its way toward the shore, but left a wake behind it that suggested it was the size of a person. Brooklyn splashed into the filthy water, eager to help, but the form was now making its way steadily toward the shore, and Brooklyn was amazed to make out two graceful horns rising above the surface of the water.

By the time he could reach her, the horned head had risen in the shallow river's edge to a standing position and revealed a female gargoyle. Her face was wide, with a pronounced muzzle that didn't quite extend to form a beak, but featured a wide grinning mouth that now gasped with the effort of arriving safely at a depth shallow enough to allow her to walk. Her wet skin was a dark gray that seemed to shimmer with the lights of the city, but she bore a unique magenta coloring pattern across the mask of her face that extended upwards to nearly the tips of her horns, which returned to the dark gray color. Her neck and shoulders featured rings of beautiful patterns of color, similar to that of a serpent, but Brooklyn could not tell if these were part of her natural coloring, or some intentional decoration. Around her breast and midsection, she wore a patterned cloth that wrapped around her. More colorful cloth floated in the water around her waist, but the rest of her remained hidden beneath the surface.

"Hey!" Brooklyn called to the stranger, hoping to welcome her, but her eyes flared red and her wings extended in a clear show of hostility. A round, silver design appeared on the inner membrane of her wing.

"I'm a friend! I mean you no harm!" he called to her, lowering his own wings to a caped position and extending his arms to show he was unarmed. The female snarled ferociously, and moved to pass him, turning as she did so as not to present her back to him.

"Please, I won't hurt you!" Brooklyn promised, walking toward her in the cold water, "My name is Brooklyn. My clan protects this city. I can take you some place safe."

The stranger snarled again, widening her stance and holding her arms in a menacing way. She was near Brooklyn's height, if not taller, and appeared powerfully built. Her spined tail thrashed over the surface of the water. Brooklyn would have had the impression that she was a well-trained warrior, but for the strange, empty, and uncomprehending expression in her fierce gaze. Something was off about this gargoyle.

"I'd like to talk," he tried again, "Maybe you could come with me and meet my friends. We-

But Brooklyn didn't get a chance to finish. The stranger leaped through the water and attacked him. Her strong claws took hold of his shoulders and throat and the force of her charge caused Brooklyn to lose his footing and his mouth and nose suddenly filled with water. For sometime, he struggled with her beneath the surface, but at last he freed himself and came up gasping for air. The stranger came up sputtering as well. Brooklyn extended his wings angrily.

"Stop it!" he bellowed, "Do you hear me?" The female's eyes softened a bit as she looked him over, almost curiously.

"I don't want to fight you!" he panted, trying to regain some composure in his tone, "I'm not your enemy. Don't you understand?"

But the wild-eyed female didn't seem to understand, and it occurred to Brooklyn that she might not understand his language. To his horror, he realized that there was a chance she did not understand any language. His mind returned to tales of rogue gargoyles that he'd heard as a hatchling in the rookery. A gargoyle that lost his clan was doomed to be consumed by broken-hearted madness, but a gargoyle who had never known his own kind, was little more than a creature of the wilderness. There were tales of such rogue gargoyles, living alone in the deepness of the forest, watching the fortunate clans of gargoyles from afar with a yearning that could never be satisfied. A sense of compassion filled Brooklyn as he remembered these stories. Surely they were only stories, meant to remind silly young hatchlings of the importance of clan!

"I am Brooklyn," he said slowly and gently, bringing his own claws to his breast, "Brooklyn."

For a moment, the stranger looked at him uneasily, then she turned and fled from him up the beach.