Gargoyles: Vilomah

by Embracethehavoc

After a terrible falling out between father and son, Brooklyn flees the clan. Now a guilt-ridden Goliath desperately tries to salvage his parental bond with Lexington and Broadway, all while scouring for his lost second. Meanwhile, Lexington begins to realize his feelings for Brooklyn in his absence; But the Brooklyn that returns, isn't the one that left.

7. The Feral State

Reminder of Gargoyles lore! Gargoyles age half as fast as humans. A 10 year old gargoyle is 5. a 26 year old gargoyle is 13.

HEADCANON TIME: Gargoyles unlock their white eye "Feral State" during the late stages of puberty, hence why the adults slip it into it so much more commonly than The Trio did.

Scotland 968

The Winters of the Scottish Highlands were a bitter thing indeed. It wielded its chilling blade with every slicing gust of wind and never relented. But what little warmth that could be found, was never far from a gargoyle who had clan.

Goliath touched down in the castle bailey, the various flickers of campfires casting the shadows of his brethren across the walls. He unshouldered the deer from his nape to the eager and awaiting hands of human butchers. The small squadron of fellow hunters he had brought with him barely had time to follow suit with their kills before their welcoming kin descended upon them.

The chilled hunting party was embraced by their mates and ushered to the bonfires to warm up. Roasted meat set reserved just for them was instantly shoved into their hands by their brethren. Hatchlings nearing their tenth hatchday leapt up and down with clapping hands.

"What did you catch?" "Did you see a unicorn this time?" "When can I come too?"

And a dozen other questions rambling out of with wide-eyed wonder.

Goliath could barely keep three eager younglings from piling onto him before he could get through his debrief and finally retire to the library. There, the familiar arms of his angel of the night were there waiting for him. Even still, he had to peel two of them off him with his hearty laugh shooing them off.

The Clan Leader barely took the time to survey who was in the room before his amethyst hands combed through the fiery mane of his beloved. Her talons ruffled through his onyx one the very same way.

"Chilly night, my love~?"

"Bitter." a yank of the hip and a playful growl "Though I have more than a few ideas on how to warm up~"

A revolted "UGGHHHHH." came from across the room while a tusked gargoyle covered his ears with his book. He stormed out of the room with a grumpy mutter "Dragon almighty - kids these days - just wanted to - Can't even read a book in peace - thought I wouldn't have to deal with this again till spring - damned kids can't keep it in the loincloth…."

Goliath nibbled on his love's neck, not the least bit phased "Mmmmm, we still have only a few years left before the breeding moon rises. Shall we get some practice in, my love~?"

"Mmm, let the moon rise just a bit higher, give the rest of the clan time to clear out." she tempered… though took her time sliding her tail through the inner meat of his massive thigh "I'll supervise the patrol parties's departures, warm yourself by the fireplace, my darling." slipping past him, her voice dropping to a giggling whisper "Besides… I think your shadow's been waiting for you all night~"

Of course he was, Goliath's laughter was mixed with amusement and just a hint of groaning irritation.

He set himself up by the fireplace. Very rarely were gargoyles permitted to be INSIDE the castle walls, especially during the long nights of winter. Humans wishing to take shelter from the bitter cold often didn't want to be sharing the same space with their nocturnal guardians - but the library was one of the few exceptions. The torches and fireplace only provided so much lighting and unless you had a gargoyle's night vision to help you out, there was no way you could read the scripts once the sun had set. Therefore, the library was one of the very few interior havens gargoyles were allowed free reign in.

A few older gargoyles were in separate, quiet spots (wishing to ease their headaches caused by the rambunctious youngsters outside). The young, little green impish gargoyle of the trio angrily flipped through one of the books in the mini-fortress of literature built around him - he held out his hand, attempted to recite a spell, then angrily flipped through the book again when it was yet another dud.

Goliath settled in to read, but he heard the familiar click of little talons on the stone floor. He turned around, just in time to see the tiny red gargoyle retreat behind the cover of a bookshelf. For something so little, the hatchlings were so unstealthy. He sighed, lamenting that he wasn't allowed a minute of peace.

But he turned around anyways "...You don't have to hide, little one." he rumbled warmly to the book shelf "You can come out."

A little red beak peaked around the corner, followed shortly by a curious pair of eyes and a twiddling set of fingers. Gargoyles were never more than an arm's reach from a family member at a time, but Goliath was a unique case. Complete and unquestioning obedience to The Clan Leader was an immutable law drilled into every gargoyle's brains at birth. Plus, with his titanic size and stature, the hatchlings were split half and half with how they spoke to Goliath - half who were always way too hyper/eager to get to talk to the clan leader and half who were too intimidated to even go near him.

And stuck smack dab in the middle of those two parties - was his little red shadow, the little hatchling who followed him everywhere; he seemed to be as equally eager to impress him as he was to cower from him. He always heard from his other parents on how the little red gargoyle was such a spitfire. When playing pretend with the other hatchlings, he'd jump on every chance to play the 'commander' - he would adorn 'armor' made of tree bark and wield a twig like the sword of a valiant warrior - parroting Goliath's commands while him and his friends bravely fought off imaginary monsters in the woods.

ANY attempt to make fun of his blue friend's weight was always met with the growls and roars of the red one… (only for him to then turn around and do the teasing HIMSELF after he had chased off the hecklers). He wasn't old enough yet to naturally roar when breaking free of his nightly stone sleep, but it hadn't stop him from forcing one out each time to appear older and tougher (Nor did it stop him from mimicking Goliath's fist-to-the-chin pose more than once at sunrise).

Yet Goliath never saw any of it firsthand. When he was around the little beaked one, all the chest pounding, smug showboating, and cocksure pageantry the parents promised of him was nowhere to be found. When Goliath once managed to catch the hatchlings in the tail end of their games, he had touched down to thank the brave little adventurers for keeping the clan safe from the wicked imaginary monsters of the forest, but when Red turned around to see it was Goliath, he had frozen stiff. His brave shouts to slay the mighty dragon (A large boulder they had carved wings on) were no more, his sword and shield had dropped from his limp hands, his jaw was slack, and his eyes were wide open in a mix of both intimidation and awe.

"The library is open to all, little one." Goliath assured him; the beaked gargoyle shyly left the shelter of the bookshelf, his movements stiff and rigid. When his knees looked like they were locked solid, he raised a hand "All knowledge is free, you're welcome to any you can find. Hmhm, I think your friend there has discovered that for himself" he couldn't help but chuckle as Green slammed his current book shut with a furious huff, grumpily opening up his seventh of the night to try and see if any of the spells in the stories were real (Was he really able to read THREE languages as the other parents told him? He was barely twelve!)

"Oh! Well! Um…" Red speaking his first words of the entire night "I'll… uh…."

He couldn't read, could he? Goliath inhaled and exhaled, shaking his head with a smile. He sat up a little, uncloaking his wings and patting his knee. "Hmhm, come here, young one."

Red's frozen joints thawed, scampering over in an instant, and hopping onto his thigh. (Well there went his peaceful night of quiet reading). His massive arms made the hatchling's little body disappear entirely as he held out the book, his enormous fingers flipping its pages to the beginning "You're always welcome to join in on the literature lessons with your mothers, my little warrior. From what I hear, your friend over there is quite the literary prodigy~"

The red one's stiff and tense movements gave way briefly so he could make a harrumph "Books are for rookery hands! Why can't I join in on hunting lessons instead?" he pouted with a folding of his arms "I could handle it! I'd be able to hunt a deer so big, it would knock Wise Elder's beard off!"

A chuckle and pat to his shoulder was his response "If you wish to be a good warrior, you must have strength in both body AND mind, my friend." he rumbled gently "All the greatest hunters and warriors I've seen never shirked their studies."

Red blinked, his eyes darting away and then back at him "...Well… I uh… did I say 'instead'? I meant 'also'. I've already asked to go to reading lessons!"

"I'm sure you have." permitting the hatchling his little fib, his purple claws scratching his silver mane "-Just follow along best as you can."

He had expected The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles to be enough to pique the young child's interest. Well…. It had been for the first few chapters at least. By hour three, Red had latched onto him and was out cold. His small shoulders rose and fell as he snored softly against Goliath's chest. When his Angel of The Night came to find him, finding him paralyzed by a sleeping, growing gargoyle, he could only shrug. Guess he was stuck like that until the little hatchling woke up.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the child, for such a little spitfire, he sure slept like a log. Guess he got to ENJOY this until the little hatchling woke up.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Scotland 984

"HELP!"

Red's voice cried out desperately, a flap of his wings sending him up and over the castle walls with a human girl - a horrifically injured human girl.

A bloody human and a frantic gargoyle? Never a good look. While every gargoyle leapt to his feet, ready for battle, every human went on guard. Parents ushered their children behind them, guards readied their swords and axes - not for whatever Red warned them what might be coming, but for the gargoyle himself.

The teenage gargoyle looked around in frantic realization of the horrified anger upon their human landlords "P-Please! She's H-Hurt!" he begged, his red colored skin making it difficult to tell just how much of her blood had dried to his chest. He had hoped the visible sincerity of his desperation would signal his innocence, but right now, all he cared about was getting the human to a chirurgeon!

One of his father's took the unconscious, bloodied child from his arms in a flash and ran up the steps of the bailey to race the human to the healers - three of his mothers were instantly on him to check him for any wounds of his own.

"Little one! Are you hurt?" was the first question asked.

"What happened?" was the second.

Red was overloaded with senses. His already hyperventilating chest quickened as his panicked glances darted around, all eyes were on him. A handful of humans were already sprinting up the stairs after his father to check the child's condition, but the rest? Hundreds of distrusting, persecuting eyes bore into him. He wasn't the only one who noticed it, because a small squadron of his fathers seemed to put a protective circle around him and them while his mothers attended to him. His other mothers corralled his brothers and sisters away from the scene - even seeing his two best brothers in the clan try to slip past their shielding arms and run to check on him.

Then came all the shouting.

The inquisitive words of his tending mothers were soon drowned out by the bellowing accusations of humans of all genders and ages.

"What in the Lord's name did it do to that poor child!?"

"The little cretin got hungry, that's what!"

"No! Probably sliced her open without even realizing it! Damn freaks don't know self control!"

"Wouldn't be the first time!"

"Stop hiding that thing! If it's done nothing wrong, it's got no reason to hide from us!"

Red sank back, his knees almost going weak as the circle started to close in. Why were humans always so quick to form mobs when something out of the ordinary? More of his parents swooped in to keep the advancing riot at bay, but it did nothing to stop the yelling. His mothers, now more urgently, tried to find out what happened - but all words in his mouth fumbled out as gibberish.

"I-I- Nnnnn…. Guuu….. Nghhh…"

The literal sight of blood on her blood on his hands didn't help things at all, neither did the smell. The shouting got worse, one human even shoved against the chest of one of his fathers. A gargoyle snarled back, the voices reached a fever pitch and-

*THUD*

Someone touched down. All eight hundred voices went silent instantly, the scuffle froze dead. A single gargoyle presence commanded silence - Goliath was here.

No words were said. He raised a hand with a thumb and middle finger pressed together, with a snap of his fingers cracking out like thunder, all the gargoyles who held the line immediately stepped three paces back. A glare over his shoulder made even the most veteran of human soldiers stumble back.

Then suddenly Goliath's steely gaze traced around to Red. And immediately, Red had much preferred the chaos of the growing riot. His heartbeat throbbed in his ears with a single look of the most powerful warrior in the world. The mothers and fathers around him immediately parted without a word.

Before anything else could respond, Clan Mother was immediately by her mate's side, her hand touching his massive shoulder as she dashed forward and to the beaked youngling. He couldn't help but breathe a hint of relief at the sight of her familiar cyan face and beautiful red hair - Clan Mother was here, everything was going to be okay now, everything was better when she arrived. Clan Mother always had his back.

Her eyes and face gentle, she brought him to his feet, and motioned for the gargoyles behind them to make an opening. While the shouts of human voices rose again (Only MUCH more respectful and reserved now that Goliath was here) she hurried him up the steps and over the edge of the castle's parapets - away from the orange torch flames of the castle and into the comforting darkness of the Scottish WIlderness.

They weren't even airborne for a full minute before she gently coaxed him down to the lakeside. Both his feet hadn't even touched the ground before he felt her hands instantly on him.

"Are you hurt?" she immediately questioned, firm but caring. Twisting his entire body side to side whilst her eagle eyes looked him up and down.

"N…N…." he violently shook his head.

"Are any others hurt? Were any of our family out with you?"

"...Mmm Mmm." he shook his head stiffly again, words barely audible between his gulps for air "I… Nghh-ngghhh" his breathing quickening, rocking on his knees

"Shhhh…. Shhhhh…" her voice now much softer, guiding him to the water "You are safe, my friend… here"

She coaxed his hands into the coolness of the lake's surface "Ground yourself on what you can sense. Your hands are feeling the coolness of the lake. Your knees are feeling the soil of the ground. You hear the sounds of crickets and owls. Look over there, do you see that? Look at the wind rolling the tall grass… focus on that, beautiful is it not? Think about what it feels and sounds like when you walk through it..."

Slowly, Red's mind didn't feel like it was flipping through the void anymore. He could feel his senses slowly regain their validity. He took in a shaky breath, and his thoughts came back down to earth.

"Good. Very good." Clan Mother's talons gently combing through his silver mane.

He let loose a haggard exhale and swallowed. Dragon above, he was glad it was Clan Mother herself who had pulled him away. Sure, she could scare the hide off of him when he saw how easily she could lose her temper, but when something was wrong with, she was ALWAYS his go-to for everything. There was nothing she couldn't fix.

Behind them, the sound of soaring wings cutting through the air, followed by a heavy thud could only mean one thing - there was one creature in the world big enough to make that sound.

Red swallowed hard, turning around to face Goliath, instinctively standing up to attention to greet his leader - but Clan Mother's strong hands stopped him and kept him rooted to the ground. Instead of him rising up to meet Goliath… Goliath lowered himself to HIS level?

Goliath NEVER took a knee to anyone! Yet here he was doing it now, looking him over "Are you hurt?"

Clan Mother's downturn hand and slight shake of the head answered for him.

"G-G'liath I-I. I didn't… T-That g-girl…"

"Hush…." Goliath said in a voice so soft it didn't seem real to come out of his mouth "You are not in trouble, my young one." a purple hand the size of his red chest securing onto his shoulder "Steady yourself. Long breathe in."

Red complied, filling his lungs with a shaky inhale

"Hold….. Hold… Deep breath out."

The gargoyle exhaled.

"Well done. Now then, friend, calm and controlled. Tell us what has happened."

"W-Well I j-just-just was out… out…" Red stopped himself. He grit his jaw and tightened his fists. He took a deep breathe in and let it out again *Whew* "...I was out gliding, Goliath. I was just t-trying to get some practice with low level flying over by the farming fields where the land is flat. But then I heard a scream by one of the stables. A… A…" he tried to form the words with his hands "-A human peasant girl was being attacked by a wolf. A really violent one."

"A wolf?"

"On it's own?"

"Y-Yes Sir. It was j-just all by itself, but it was attacking her - ripping her apart even. I tried to call for help but no one was around, not even humans. S-So I leaped in and chased it off. B-But she was…" he shivered and looked down at himself in reawakening terror "T-There was so much… so so much blood."

His voice cracking was soothed by Clan Mother pulling her against him, her warm wing draping over him - it steadied him. Red twisted his hip to the side and lifted up his shredded loincloth "I-I tore pieces of my loincloth off to make tourniquets over her arms and legs, b-but she passed out while I flew back to the castle with her."

"And that's when you flew in calling for help?" she asked him.

"Y-yes Ma'am."

An uneasy glance passed between the adults "Young one." Goliath said darkly "You said the wolf was alone?"

He sniffed and whipped his mouth "Yes."

"Wolves do not travel alone...Anything else you can remember about it? Anything at all?"

"Uh… Y-yeah. It was stumbling around a ton. Even after a knocked it away with a stone, it just hobbled and tripped around a lot." he made a gesture with his hands against his face "Also, it had like… a lot of foam around its mouth, wasn't like drool, it was sort of like the fizz on top of Wise Elder's drinks. I sor-"

"You're sure it didn't bite you?" Clan Mother interrupted frantically, pulling her wings away and now quickly looking him over again.

"Y-yes, it never got to touch me."

Red recoiled as Goliath now had both hands on him, a hint of hectic behind his usual stonelike stare "My young friend…. You did a VERY brave thing tonight. You helped someone who needed you, you leapt in like a true guardian of the night. But you MUST be more careful when going against an enemy you do not know."

"My love." he turned his attention to Clan Mother "The clan is grounded until we dispose of the wolf, all patrols are to travel in groups of four minimum. Get him cleaned up and then bring him inside the castle walls."

Red wanted to interject, saying it was but one wolf, but Goliath was already rushing back uphill to the castle on foot.

"GROUNDED?" Red parroted, looking back at his mother in alarm "Didn't he h-hear me? It was just one wolf! It doesn't need the whole clan being locked down! I-Is it a magic beast? Did one of Oberon's Childrens use it as a disguise?"

"Hush, my young friend." she responded sagely, bringing Red up to his hips in the lakebed while he scrubbed himself free of blood "I'll explain once we're back inside… we'll have the clothiers make you a new loincloth."

"It was just one wolf…." he repeated. What could be so dangerous about one wolf?

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Red thrashed on the ground in a convulsing fit. The ground beneath him was colder than the sharpest ice sheet, the bile in his throat was like molten iron had been poured in.

He clawed at the ground, dragging his paralyzed body to a puddle of water that was now there. He pressed his lips to try and swallow what he could to cool the brimstone in his gullet, but the slightest touch of water burned like acid. He thrashed frantically on the floor, foam erupted from his mouth as he tried to scream in anguish, his beak felt like it was sizzling off.

Then suddenly, his brothers and sisters were there. Then suddenly, he was on his feet too. His body moved against his will, he wanted to scream a plea for them to run away from him, but his limbs rushed forward in a hobbled stumble - he slashed, bit, and sliced them all. They shrieked in shrill agony as they collapsed to the ground and convulsed like he had, foam now billowing from their lips too. He spread his sickness and scourge like a curse.

And then, his legs forced him to charge at his two little brothers, they stood there absolutely still and motionless as his foaming jaws open and bit into both their arms.

In a split second flash. They both laid motionless on the ground before him. Suddenly, Red was on his knees, frozen in place. Before him stood the shadowy figures of Goliath, Clan Mother, and his hundreds of parents. Their voices muddled like underwater.

Ì̶̤͇̘͛̽̓̌͠n̶̟̱̼̫̅̋̇͆̓͋͘f̴̧̧̛̛̣͖͖̯̎͗̆̍͛̊͗͊ȩ̵̢̥̥̹͕̯̯͂̀̍͝c̷̜͍̩̼̈́̄̀͝t̸̬͋ë̴͈̓̿̇̚̕̚ͅd̵̙̹͕̠̯̜̣̾͜͠ ̷͖͕̀͊̂̈́̄̊c̶̦̜̪̟̰̖̄̈́̕͜h̵̥̗̟̟̰̺̖͖̰̎͒̋̒̊̀͜í̸͎̮̗̱̥̯͚͗̈́͗̈́̀͗̒̉ľ̶͙͔̘̉̈̉͌̉́͑̀ḑ̶̕

K̵̝̔̾̐͂̽̈́̊͌̒̕í̵̤̬̥̹͓͙̗͂l̸̛͖̮̩̖̤̙̺̼̎̃̊̅̈́̈́͠ľ̴̨̳̲̭̤ ̴̻̻͍̒̈̔̒̒i̴̤͉͎̺̖̥͆̏͂̔̆ț̵̼͛̐ ̴̛̼͈̮̯̪̹̩̲̦͆̆͒̃̽̑̕͠q̶̘̪̑͒͝u̵͇̮͂͒͛i̸̲̭̝͙̼͛̈́͛̍͊̋̓̚͘͝ͅċ̷̠͇͖̈͑͜k̷̢̖͌̀̒̏̀̾̚͝ļ̷̡̙̬̯̠̂̈́̄̅͠ý̴̡̢̘̹̖̯̀͗̉̒̀̀̚͝

T̷̤̻͙̗̈́̑̆h̵̤̱̒̚e̴̠͎̗͕̓̓̂̐̚r̶̨̨͎͕͔̘̠̤͋̓̃̽è̶͈̥̽̑͆̊̚ͅ ̷̱̘̬̦̞͉̒̌̕͝ͅi̶̢̧͖̘̬͕̱̗͚̩̋͆́̇̈͊̂̐̚ş̸̘̙͕͇̘͔͕̃̑̓́̄͋͘ͅ ̶͉̩͌̋n̷̘̤̙͘͝o̴̧͈̪͖͇̓̀̈́̀̒ ̷̧̡̟̯̙̩̦̬̠͝ͅs̶̡͈̻̙̉͌̚a̶̧͍̓̇̓̓͆̊̀̋͐͝v̷͔͒́̌̒͐͝ȉ̵̬̃͑̆̂͊͘͝ṇ̸̡͈͖͍̱̝̖̀g̴̥̳̝̝̙͕̎͐̈́̂̍̾ ̴̘͖͠ḧ̸̛̘̼͆̄̀͒͊̑́e̵̼̍̄̇̌̇̕͝͠r̶̘͓͚͔͖̯̠̘͎̿͌̽̂̑̾͘͝,̴̡͈̝̫͖̹͂̓͗̍̑͂̚̕ͅ ̸̡͕̜͎͔͖̳̭̱͛͐̃̇k̵̢̝̯̤͈̅̐̃̈́̃̓̋͘̕͘ͅi̴̢͉̗̞̩̯̫̯̱͖̐̾̍̀̾̿̎̋̐̍l̷̨̺̾̌̐l̴̡͈͔̟̥͎͋͛ ̵̙̒͒̓̀̂̐̌̓̕ḧ̸̙̝̖̙̲̣̞̒̂͌̉̓ë̴̛̙̣͓̉͌̈́̇̍̿r̴̯͚̖̱͋͆̊͋̕.̴͎̟̖̉ ̸͙̗̐̓̀̊̋̉͘K̶̛̻̫̲͎̥͎̖̪̗̈́́̒̌̎i̵̖̦̩͑l̸̢̡̺͙̯͉͕͖̼̲͆̈́ļ̵̢̰̑̓͘ ̷̭̲̰͂̒͋͋͆̌̒h̷̬̏̈́́ï̵̧̟̺̙͕̝͇̗̌͠ͅm̸̢̜̒̉̄͗̐͌͝.̵̨̛͈͙̗̤͙̍́́̾̆̇̕̕ ̵̫͖̦̍̎̓̉̓̂̊̾̎͝K̸̜̲̲͖̻̮͙̪͉̻̔̀̈̎̇̌̂i̶̗̳̲̇̒́l̴̳̣̜̞̩͖̩̾̆͆̏͘l̷͖̿̂̇̊͐͊̑́̚͘ ̴̿̌̀ͅẗ̵͎̣͔͇̔͌̌́̏͒́͝h̸̢̡̝̞̣̖͕̖̟̃̌e̷̢̮̖̠̟͙͈̭̽͂̉̅̍͆̃̄͝͝ͅm̴̰̭̫̎̔̚ ̷̢͉̼̻̩̯͇̺̜̋̑̅͒̀̾͌̔̚b̷͎̲̐ͅò̶̮̫̼̀͌̽͑̉̀͛t̷͕̼̰̫͒̑̔͊̏͛̄̀̎̂h̸̢̹̩̜̺̀͋.̴̹̯͓͖͓̗͆͑̒̎̐͗̂͝

He wanted to screech for help, to say it wasn't him. It wasn't his fault. To cry and beg for them to help his brothers and sisters he had infected - to save them.

But Goliath raised a clawed talon. Red begged to be spared. Down came the claws

0000oooo0000oooo0000

*crrrra-a-ackoom*

"NOOOO!"

While halfway through shedding their stone skin, the mothers to the left and right of him nearly jumped out of their fur when they heard the son screaming bloody murder. They turned just in time to see him scrambling off his perch and back into the wall, babbling "No, please, no. I-I didn't mean... I wasn't."

Another sleep terror.

One of the worst parts about stone sleep was that no amount of stimuli could wake you up while the sun was up, unlike humans who could wake up from a nightmare if it caused enough of a scare. If you had a horrible daymare tormenting you with your worst fears, you had to endure it for hours until sunset came to wake you.

His mothers were on him before his back could even touch the back wall "Shhhh, shhh…. You're alright little one. It was just a daymare." they cooed softly, hands combing through his hair. That was the sixth day in a row. Every cursed day, he was forced to spend ten uninterrupted hours with his greatest fear, a new phobia he had just developed.

He always knew rabies was a thing. But with how silly the word sounded, and the only thing he even vaguely knew about it was the drooling, he didn't think too much of it.

He didn't know it was an incurable, agonizing way to die with a 100% fatality rate.

When his parents had barred him from seeing the girl he had saved, and the humans had quarantined her to a different part of the castle, he had to see what was happening. So elected to sneak up the side of her tower's exterior and keep watch of her through the window. He wished he hadn't. For four grueling days, he watched in helpless horror through the window of her tower as she thrashed like a possessed demon.

All attempts at being given water triggered and unholy screech and thrashing of religious terror from her. Her human parents begged for her to come back to them, hourly masses had christian humans by the hundreds praying on their knees for the innocent child to become well. The slightest thing made her descend in babbling fits. Eventually, the hallucinations she had took hold of her senses. And on the final day… came the foaming of the mouth.

He watched helplessly behind the veil of the windowsill, hands before his beak as she convulsed her last, her weeping parents unable to do anything as she died frantic and terrified. He didn't even get to know her name.

It didn't make any sense. He knew humans stayed sick, unlike gargoyles who got cured with stone sleep, but their reasoning behind it was mad! Humans told each other that sicknesses were punishments from their God; people who were ill were ill because they were sinners. But such a thing was impossible, Red and his siblings were 27, this girl wasn't even 6, what on earth could she have done something deserving of such a death? How could something this EVIL happen?

That wasn't a sickness, that was a demon possessing and killing someone!

That girl had done nothing wrong! She was just a child! What had she done to deserve such a cruel fate?

His desperate attempts to gain answers from his parents, even human healers, gained not even a hint of justification. There was no cure for the disease, once you were bitten, you had but days to live. And…. any…. ANY animal could have it? A wolf, a rodent, even a damn BAT?

After all these years, all his decades of playing make believe in the forest with his friends, they had been completely surrounded by animals capable of infecting them with this curse?

He had begged with his parents "W-We're gargoyles! We protect! We save! We're stronger than ANY animal!" flexing his arms and pounding his chest with desperate rationalizations "We can defeat anything! Can't we fight th-the sickness? N-None of us ever get sick!"

But the morbid reply was always the same "It's not that simple, little one….."

Stone Sleep kept gargoyles from ever being sick (Something humans begrudgingly envied), all sicknesses no matter how deadly were cured by sunset. But even still, Goliath had ordered a COMPLETE lockdown of all gargoyles until the rabid wolf was either found and killed, or two weeks passed where it would have died from the sickness on its own. It didn't matter if the rabies wouldn't kill them like normal humans, the infected jaws and claws could still rot the flesh before stone sleep could prevent its conquest. Amputations of bitten arms weren't all that uncommon to bitten gargoyles. Not to mention the hyper violent behavior of a rabid animal spelled trouble for an unsuspecting wanderer.

And now Red was stuck in this castle. Every night he had horrid dreams of that wolf…. Rabid and bloodied… sinking its jaws into his flesh and infecting him with its demonic curse. How the agony ripped through his body just as it had for her - water was acid, air was boiling oil. His senses devolved into rabid insanity. His drugged madness had him convulsing and spreading his vile pain to his loved ones… before finally being put down by Goliath.

All attempts to console him and rid him of this phobia were all for naught. No matter how many times his fathers and mothers explained to him he'd never be infected like that, he just couldn't get it out of his head! It was like it was playing on loop! He couldn't stop thinking about it anymore! The first four days he had refused to even step outside the inner castle's ring….. But for the past two days, he refused to even leave the safety of the wall's height!

For decades, he had proudly puffed out his chest as the make believe commander for his friends. He boldly charged into sparring matches and wrestling bouts with brimming pride. He had dreamed for years to be allowed on a hunt or, even some day, sent into battle alongside his mothers and fathers - to be the undisputed hero of the clan, to have even Goliath himself hurrah him at a victory feast! For everyone to look at him as a great and noble warrior who'd save the day!

…But now, after his first real sense of danger, he couldn't even stomach the idea of a damn MUTT? Was he really just a pathetic fake this whole time?

He wished that was the only thing he could stomach because…

A few hours later, unbeknownst to the humans in attendance, he was looking down grimly at the girl's funeral. High and safe on the parapets of the castle, he watched in secret as the child was returned to the Earth. He grit his teeth, hair bristling and eyes frantically keeping watch for the wolf (No, what if it was wolves? A dozen of them? TWO dozen of them? All of them infected and rabid? Or what if it wasn't wolves, what if there was a bat no one could see in the dark? Why were these humans so foolishly staying out in the open on the ground? They could all get infected just as quickly as she!)

He never understood human rituals at death… only a small number of humans close to the deceased coming together to dig a hole and toss them in… putting a rock over them with their name? A Wind Ceremony had FAR more dignity and respect - the entire clan came together as one, taking to the skies and scattering their ashes to the wind to watch over them! To go out in a glorious blaze surrounded by roaring loved ones…. Not thrown into the dirt and left to be eaten by maggots.

It only made the weeping of the parents and family members all the more gut wrenching. The wails of her mother was unlike anything he heard, the stone emptiness on the father was like he had died himself. They were humans, they had devoted themselves to raising a single child….. And it was gone… forever, just like that. That book was closed and it could never be reopened.

Eavesdropping above, he learned that her name was Eleanor. The human priest recited passages in honor to the humans' god and how she would be accepted into his kingdom. Words and stories were passed in grief, recalling the life she had led… it wasn't fair. His jaw tightened… as did his grip on the stonework. It. Wasn't. FAIR.

She did nothing wrong, these HUMANS did nothing wrong. So what if they were ungrateful to his kind and their protection of them, nothing warranted the horrid wails of loss that now echoed through his ears! He wanted to leap down and join them, their sorrow beginning to bleed up into him, but he wouldn't be welcomed - not the poor sorry excuse of a coward who couldn't stop ONE mangy mutt!

Even when the ceremony had ended and her body was buried, he couldn't bring himself to leave his vigil.

...but he found himself able to jump. His talons touched ground for the first time in a week, now standing over her tombstone. Why? Why did he care so much? Why did he even care at ALL? He never knew her, he had never even said a word to her, he could barely even recall seeing her face once or twice in the castle's walls among the sea of humans over the course of her life. What reason did he have to care? She barely existed as an afterthought in his world.

But to others, she was their entire world… and the anguish and sorrow's of their cries? Those were very real. He was a gargoyle, his body was bred with the instinct to protect and defend. And he had failed.

One simple legacy he dreamed to live up to - and he couldn't even do that right.

His chops curled back in a new feeling. His hair bristled and his talons clenched and unclenched into fists. What sick vindictive force allowed a parent to lose a child? A fire burned from the bottom of his stomach Why was a mindless animal allowed to take a life? The inferno blistered through his body's virgin kindle, igniting his nerve endings with focus akin to a freshly sharpened sword ….And why… Why was it still ALIVE? His senses snapped clearer than ever before.

*GROOOOWWWLLLLL*

His eyes snapped a pure white. His useless sense of reason felt more unnecessary than ever. He wasn't sorrowful anymore, he was angry. He was vengeful. He was FERAL.

Concepts like fear were nothing but a false memory, the sheer idea of being scared was a jester's bad joke. What did HE have to fear? That vermin was a wolf. He was a GARGOYLE. He was stronger, he was smarter, he was faster, he was BETTER. HE was what others had to fear. He was the one who owned the night, he was the predator, anything else in this world was either prey or a target to him.

He stood up from the grave, his blistering white eyes turning their haunting gaze to the treeline.

*You're still alive, aren't you?*

To hell with Goliath's stupid order of all children being grounded until the rabid animal died over the next few days! It didn't deserve that easy sentence! No, it dared have the audacity to keep breathing in air on this earth? It was out there, so smug at its invincibility, wasn't it? That it could bite and spread its horrid curse to someone else, then given the luxury of dying on its own!?

*hunt…. Hunt… Kill… Kill…. KILL.*

He snapped his talons out, his gaping maw huffing in a predatory bloodlust. This new feeling coursed through him… and the rush of invincibility he felt from it lit his heart ablaze - VENGEANCE.

The hunting parties sent to find it hadn't been successful in their search, Red blamed it on them just making sure it wasn't too close to the castle, rather than hunting it down to claim its life. They lacked the conviction, the WILL.

His stumbled bolt forward opened up into a blistering sprint. He leapt into a glide faster than ever before, he felt like he had enough energy to lap the world, every sense was locked in more focused than ever! But he wasn't able to enjoy any of it, he had one goal - JUSTICE.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

*GROAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!*

He had found it deep in the woods and suddenly his vision erupted a blinding fury. Red shrieked out in a voice that wasn't his own. This damn MUTT was stumbling and sniveling deep in the forest like the filthy coward it was!

But his speed was too fast and he rocketed right by it, splitting a towering tree in two like it was a half rotted log. The wolf snarled with its foam spewing mouth, the gargoyle charged with a terrible roar, swiping at air. The lupine snapped it's jaws at Red's forearm, his locked in white eyes widening in reawakening terror. Suddenly, all the nightmares of the horrid death that awaited him came rushing back in - this had been a horrible idea.

Red's hand had snapped forward out of reflex to grab the wolf's jaw and force it away

*SNAP*

-Except he had actually managed to do it? It took him a second to realize his other hand had effortlessly been fast enough to clap those jaws shut with a single grasp - his reflexes were like lightning now.

And he needed them to be, because the feral lupine started wildly batting its infected claws at him, forcing Red to drop him and instantly leap away. He missed the swipes so narrowly that he could feel the wind coming off them. Something was now burning in the gargoyle's chest.

The rabid dog snapped its jaws at him again, Red dodged aside once, then twice, then thrice - then his foot snapped up to kick it away in the jaw, sending it tumbling through the air. That feeling in his breast burned hotter. Because now he didn't even chase after the wolf to finish it off… no… he wanted to drag this out, he wanted it to feel what SHE felt.

He danced this deadly dance, his life on the line, yet still in full control the entire time. He let out a snicker, a cackle, then roared with feral laughter in vocals that were not his own. The concoction of aggression and hatred inside his chest that was now laced with the thrill of fear. Yes… So that's what this was? The Adrenaline, the rush, the intensity.

The thrill of true BATTLE.

He swiped and clawed at the maddened dog, making EVERY slice cathartic to sink the memory of its victim in its final moments. He bellowed as he uppercut the madly gnashing creature in the jaw, cracking its skull against a massive boulder. He stormed forward, his red beak heaving a haggard intensity, grabbing its matted fur throat and yanking it up with a single arm.

His body moved on autopilot, his senses were beyond their maximum, but his thoughts were less than white noise far in the distant corner of his mind. There were no debates, no reservations, no sense of his former self, nothing to snap him out of his thirst for revenge.

Only him, his target, and his victory.

WIth a screeching roar, his other hand swung and dug its claws into the beast's gullet. He tugged twice, then ripped down, ripping its head clean from its body - a geyser of blood spewed from its headless neck.

**ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!**

He raised the wolf's head like a trophy, the moon and stars bearing witness to his glorious triumph. He stood frozen in that pose for a time he did not bother to measure, his roar continuing over and over again despite needing to refill his lungs again and again to repeat it.

And suddenly, as unannounced as it had begun, the rush and strength he felt all the way from Eleanor's grave began to fade. His filed vision widened with returning color, the invincibility he felt began to dull with exhausted breaths, his ravenous hunger for revenge began to feel sated.

*Huff…. Huff…. Huff…*

He looked at his hand. He gulped an air of shock, immediately dropping the wolf's head and stumbling away. His sight finally began to drink in the aftermath of his actions. He…. H-he had just…. KILLED something! No, he had torn it apart! It was not a clean kill with a bow nor blade, he had savagely torn it to pieces with his bare hands!

Hands that now shook as he looked at the blood soaked upon them. What had he DONE? What had he been thinking? Yes, he wanted this wolf dead! He wanted vengeance for Eleanor, he wanted justice for its wicked crime, he wanted to know people could be safe now that there was one less beast in the world to worry about but… but… it didn't change the fact that… that it was still a living creature! A living creature that was probably just in much pain and clueless fear as she had been on her deathbed!

And he had murdered it.

He didn't act in self defense. He had gone looking for a fight… he had chased after it for the sole purpose of taking its life.

NO. He shook his head vigorously. He did nothing wrong! This. was. JUSTICE. He flooded his brain with images of the dead child, justifying everything by holding it parallel with his pain.

But… was it really the wolf's fault? They never made it a point to attack humans, and this one was all on its own, drowned in the painful madness that had taken Eleanor.

But what did that matter?! It didn't matter what kind of pain or insanity someone was under! nothing justified murdering an innocent life! What he did was merely justice!

But…. The pain that poor animal might have been in… a lone wolf - cast out by its pack. Cast out by its clan.

He shook his head and packed the memory with anger before burying it. For some reason, it was easier to douse the pain of loss and sorrow with rage. Anger made the pain somehow more manageable.

Red picked up the wolf's head… perhaps bringing it back could show her parents justice had been done. But then he picked up the headless body and slung it over his shoulder, they needed to burn the tainted meat to ensure the disease did not spread.

Red had a million thoughts battling inside his brain right now - rage, pain, aggravation, horror, lingering fear, dread, sorrow… but starting to arise above them all? Pride.

He hadn't faced his fear, he hadn't conquered it, he had downright DESTROYED IT. He had spit in the face of the thing that had him frozen in fear for so many days and nights, he had made his first ever hunt completely single handedly, he had heroically slain a beast Goliath was too s-

*BA-THUMP*

His heart beat out. Oh no… Goliath…

He had blatantly disobeyed him. Not by sneaking treats for the gargdogs, pulling a prank on the girls, or reading forbidden books….. He was guilty of insubordination. He'd broken curfew on a Clan-wide grounding to go after the ONE THING everyone had been ordered to avoid. A Direct Order from Goliath himself.

Suddenly, the fear of that made the dead Wolf slung over his shoulder seem petty. I-It was fine though. He hadn't even been gone for a full hour, barely even thirty minutes! And the castle was PACKED with gargoyles right now, there was a good chance no one had even noticed he was missing - even if they did, they would just assume he was in another section of the massive fortress. Thirty minutes wasn't nearly enough to cause suspicion.

A-All he had to do was stash the body of the wolf nearby the castle, tell a human guard where it was so they could burn it, and then slip back into the castle. He nodded fiercely to himself. Easy as could be. No one would notice he was ever gone!

0000oooo0000oooo0000

They had noticed

Red hadn't shaken in the air since he was a hatchling. Now he was quaking like a leaf. The castle's parapets were lined with dozens of gargoyles looking directly at him. At first he instinctively dropped his altitude and hoped they hadn't seen him… but even this far away in the distance, he knew he had been caught. His stomach dropped lower when he heard wings flap behind him. He shakily turned his head to see two of his fathers and one of his mothers directly above him; search parties had been sent out for him.

"You… have made a serious mistake, boy."

The air escort kept him from running away. He felt a hundred pounds heavier as he came up and over the walls, an army of furious eyes drilled into him from every direction. Before a storm of roars could berate him, a snarling "He's back! He's over here!" was shouted and followed by a dozen of his loved ones coming from around corners or gliding down out of the sky.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't happy to see any of them.

He flinched as he felt the Wolf's head and body were sharply confiscated from him, a lightning fast inspection of his body was made by a dozen hands "I-I'm fine…" he droned solemnly with raised hands, hands that were immediately slapped and forced back down to his sides. Ensuring he was safe or not, he was in for the flank-chewing of a lifetime.

But seeing the two parents who had grabbed the lupine's body start to disappear behind the wall of others set something off in him "WAIT!" he yelped out, able to slip through the horde of guardians who surprisingly actually let him pass. He managed to snatch the Wolf's head back and swipe his tail close to his chest just in time to dodge the enraged attempt of his father to arrest it "I know! But please! Just let me do this!"

He flung himself down into the bailey with a tightening of his wings, the parents behind him didn't even need to bother chasing after him; there was nowhere to run; no matter which direction he ran to, there'd be dozens of parents waiting to intercept. Where only few actually gave chase, ALL watched, the sheer gravity of the situation was hitting him, everyone in the whole clan knew and was watching his pathetic scramblings. But he found himself blurting out the only thing he could think to call for.

"ELEANOR'S PARENTS?!"

The severed head in his hands was spewing blood all over the dirt, but he couldn't waste time. Human's recoiled, repulsed at the sight of what looked like a gargoyle teen running around with a recent kill… though he couldn't miss the one or two shocked faces of hinting relief in some of their faces - the diseased wolf was dead at least.

He continued to shout the basic title so loud that it echoed off the walls, clueless as to what their actual first name's even were. He skittered to a slow as he banked around a corner, recognizing a group of humans who didn't COMPLETELY hate gargoyles openly "PLEASE! Where are Elaeanor's parents?" he pleaded, shoving the wolf's head to the side as if to showcase what he had to offer.

"Thank you!" he cried in exhaustion as a single, delayed finger pointed inside one the exterior corridors (continuing to ignore the shouts of a few parents who commanded him to stop… though he noticed some stopped the chase once he showed the human's the head, some even held others back with them).

His claws clicked passed a few sitting circles of humans, ignoring the reviling shriek of a woman at the sight of his intrusion. Two familiar faces caught his eye and he skidded to a halt; he had found them, still in mourning against the back wall. They looked just as dead inside as they had at the funeral, but their hollowed expressions seemed to gain consciousness at what he bore.

He swallowed back his pants with a dry mouth, he swatted the sweaty hair from out of his eyes "I… I…" he didn't think of any words. He grunted and straightened up. He raised one hand and dutifully reported "...Y-Your daughter has been avenged."

His parents had halted their chase and had given him the space he needed, taking even a few paces back. He swallowed hard, the return of mist in her parent's eyes triggering something within him - his guilty failure. He had originally expected a heroes thank you, to be brimming with pride as he made it so the child could rest in peace. But now? He could only wonder 'What if you had flown to her a little faster? What if you had been stronger?'

He swallowed and dropped the wolf's head before them, hanging his own "I…. I'm sorry…."

Silence was shared by even the humans now. He flinched as he felt the mother's hand shakily reach out and place itself upon his shoulder. His head sank even lower.

"You're… you have our thanks."

The words of gratitude from a HUMAN shot through him so sharply, his body tensed up. He jerked his head up, but what little he could see of the childless mother's face was darkened by a shadow behind him - a familiar shadow at that. Red snapped his head around in cautious relief, Clan Mother! Finally! Clan Mother would understand! Especially after seeing him giving these humans peace, she'd understand why he HAD to break the lockdown! She'd-

Her eyes were glowing red.

Zero understanding was to be found in her snarl. She snapped her fingers and pointed at her feet, ordering him over without so much of a word - it was an order his soul and body obeyed before his brain even could.

It was time to face Goliath.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

The flight outside the castle felt like a procession to his execution. Getting scolded was nothing new for the young gargoyle, every child got yelled at plenty in their lifetime. Having the Clan Leader chew you out directly? You had to screw up royally for that…. But being brought away to be disciplined IN PRIVATE?

Red nearly fell out of the sky when he finally saw Goliath himself. 700 lbs of raw muscle, authority… and complete terror. Those eyes were lit a burning white. Clan Mother landed down and shoved her hand into his back, letting him know Goliath wanted to talk to him and him unaccompanied - he'd have to face him alone.

He swallowed hard. His shaky trudges forward to meet Goliath at the cliffside were heavy. He tried to steel himself, try to puff himself up with courage - he may have broken the rules, but it was for good reason AND ended up just fine! The ends justified the means!

Keeping his wings caped and beak down, he shuffled to within a few steps before stopping.

After a few moments of tense silence, Goliath said in grim tones "Boy…"

"...Y-Yes sir?"

"Look at me."

Red flinched and tucked his head further, he had to resist the biological instinct to turn his head and expose his throat in submission.

"Look. At. Me."

His eyes managed to drag up off the ground, up Goliath's imposing form, and lock onto his twitching lips. The raising of his enormous purple fist made him shrink away "You were. THIS. Close to making me order a scrambling of the clan to find you." His thumb and index finger a hair apart to emphasize the point.

Making eye contact was impossible, Goliath's words nearly made him cower. He couldn't form a response.

"I ordered counts to get accountability and you were NOWHERE to be found. Your other fathers and I nearly turned the castle inside out trying to find you! Everyone said it was impossible for you to have run off into the night, there was no way ANYONE would be so stupid and selfish to disobey a direct curfew, ESPECIALLY you."

The young teen had never felt so small in all his life, he opened his maw to quiver a response.

"I-I only did it to-"

"SILENCE."

There was so much air in that venomous hiss, Red immediately felt his vocal chords submit.

"I am fully aware why you ran off. And don't you dare for even a moment fool yourself into thinking it was brave. That wolf was already over a week infected, in a few days it would have died on its own, if not already. Yet you thought YOU were fit to handle it without any backup or even TELLING anyone where you had gone."

"This was THE worst possible call. You're still a youngling in training without his Hunting or Combat Trials completed. We entrust you junior warriors the freedom to leave the castle walls without chaperones, we only ask that you return that respect by trusting your chain of command and listening to direct orders when they're made!" he snapped a wing out with a gesturing hand "Is that trust and respect ill placed, should we take those privileges back?"

"N-NO SIR."

"There's a difference between bravery and reckless stupidity!" Goliath's words barking louder and heavier "What were you even thinking!?"

Red wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. He was nearly shaking at the knees "I-I thought I could… could avenge that little girl."

"And get yourself killed alongside her?" he bellowed "Of all the insubordinate, childish, reckless- that was not a chivalrous act of justice! You tore the creature apart with your bare hands, that was a hateful act of rage! You told all of us you were getting your temper under control!"

"I-I did!" Red croaked "B-But… But."

"You could have been KILLED, little one!" Goliath barked out, eyebrows raised and voice far less enraged for a split second "You SIBLINGS could have been killed! What if your brothers saw you leave and snuck after you, what if they had gotten hurt?"

Red's jaw quaked

"DIFFERENT story, isn't it? And what if it turned out it wasn't just one wolf, what if it was a whole pack? Or if it was a bear that had gone rabid?" Goliath firmly went down to one knee, his furious white eyes in line with Red's terrified ones "Can you imagine what that would have been like? What if your mother- What if I came across your mangled body ripped to pieces?! What if we scoured the wilderness looking for you and found you dead on the ground?! What if you were in danger and we couldn't get to you in time!?"

Red's lips frantically pressed together to try and formulate words "I… ah… I-I… G…" he snapped his head to Clan Mother, hoping she'd step in. But she still stood at a distance - arms folded and glowing red eyes wrought with Goliath's enraged worry.

"I was going to finally let you come along for hunts, but… this shows me you clearly are not ready."

Red snapped his head up "I-I AM!" he bleated out "I've proven it! I-I made my first kill on my own!"

"Oooooh, you've proven it for certain, boy." Goliath snarled grimly "You've proven that you're not mature enough, you're not smart enough, and you're not Trustworthy enough to fight alongside us."

Something inside of Red cracked. It nearly brought him to his knees. Like he'd been struck, Red stepped back again, a hand hovering over his rolling stomach.

"You're grounded for thirty nights."

Even Clan Mother's eyebrows went up at that.

"W-WHAT!?" Red cried out.

Humans loved to steal things from gargoyle culture - using 'grounding' as some way to mean their kids couldn't go out to play or something pathetic like that. To gargoyles, grounding was what the word meant - to be forbidden from flying. To separate a gargoyle from the freedom of the night sky was to chain their very soul to the earth. Their ability to soar into the night and become one with the stars of the heavens was a right no gargoyle could think to live without. To be grounded was a punishment second only to temporary banishment to the wilderness - but that level of discipline was never imposed on children.

"I won't have your wings lashed together with rope, be grateful for that." Goliath growled without reservation "But you are still confined to the ground for the next thirty nights. When dawn comes, you'll be locked in the rookery so you are safe during the daytime, but you are not to take a place upon your usual perch for the sun. And don't you even dare think about stepping foot outside the castle walls, or so help me I'll chain you in the rookery myself!"

Red wanted to stammer for mercy and pardon. All he wanted to do was give a parent peace for their lost child, it didn't justify this humiliation!

But that was that. Goliath had made his judgment. He turned sideways to let the boy pass "Get Inside. You'll be spending the next thirty days apologizing to each and every single one of your mothers and fathers. I WILL be checking that you've spoken to all of them at the end of the month."

Red floated past him like a ghost, his jaw agape and eyes vacant - still attempting to drink it all in. His back muscles twitched to spread his wings to take to the air, but he remembered he couldn't follow that instinct now. He marched his walk of atonement back to the castle.

On foot.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

The two watched in silence as the little red gargoyle became smaller and smaller up the hill, disappearing into the massive front gate of the castle.

"Weren't you a little hard on him?" His Angel of the Night asked him.

"This generation of soon-to-be-warriors is at a critical moment in their lives." Goliath sighed with a heavy shake of his head, his exaggerated rage dissipating now that the intended audience member had left "Too old to be called children, not yet old enough to be called adults. If I didn't make an example out of something like this…."

More silence hung in the night between the two. She broke it with a grunt of acknowledgement "Mm…" not approving, nor condemning. "But still though… It might have been right to praise him for his bravery."

"That was not bravery." Goliath said grimly to the night "That was an angry brute wanting revenge."

"That was JUSTICE." She contended "I have no inkling as to why he felt the need to fight on behalf of a human's honor-" she said that word like it was rotten food "-but he fought for it gallantly nonetheless. An enemy had wronged him; an eye for an eye."

"And so everyone end's up blind." Goliath rebutted.

More silence. Goliath chewed on a nail "...Is what the others said true?"

She inhaled and exhaled deeply "...Yes… I don't know how he did it. But he did it. The scent of adrenaline was unmistakable."

"The Feral State." Goliath grumbled out deeply "...It's not possible. Not at this young of an age. The younglings shouldn't be able to unlock it for at least another decade. I haven't even HEARD of someone unlocking it this early."

"The boy MAY have a temper, Goliath, but nothing we should be worried about, if that's what you're implying.." she steadied "Is that why you-"

"Yes. I made the grounding so long because I want a close vigil kept on him. From dusk to dawn, I want eyes on him at all times." Goliath and his love marched back up the hill "...early usage of the Feral State is a bad omen… but this?"

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Day sixteen of his humiliation.

Gargoyles never gossiped, but news always spread like wildfire. His grounding was known throughout the clan before the blue hint of dawn appeared the night of his sentencing, but the gravity of it set in all the more when he descended into the rookery while his siblings took their place on high.

He was still permitted to attend his hunting and combat classes when they took place on the castle grounds, but when their instructors had to continue the class in the wilderness for practical application, he had to suffer the indignity of staying behind. At least he wasn't limited to only bread and water during his punishment, like grounding normally entailed. He was still allowed meat and fruit whenever he wanted, and was still welcomed at the nightly feast. So….. sure, that was nice.

But that welcome existed in formality only. Wings tied or not, he was labeled a malcontent. He had done nothing to endanger the clan, nor had he hurt anyone, but he had dishonored their trust in him and that was enough. When clan only had each other to rely upon in life-or-death situations, when immediate and unquestioning obedience to orders decided the difference between victory or massacre in battle, complete trust to the Clan Leader and the Chain of Command was Non-negotioable.

Going from parent to parent, bowing his head low and begging for forgiveness one by one was draining, every one of them had an hour long lecture waiting for him - often repeating the exact same thing he'd heard thirty times by now. Oftentimes he had to face them in groups when he couldn't find them off on their own and had to stomach all eyes drilling into him as he had to lie about his regret in his actions and how it wouldn't happen again. At his current pace, he was only managing to apologize to maybe twenty a night.

To be honest… the first night he had felt nothing BUT remorse, but now days later, as he had to publicly apologize over his actions one by one, it made him double down! HE had saved the entire clan from a savage rabid single handedly; he avenged a girl that no one other than HIM tried to save! His first ever kill was one of the most challenging games possible, yet he still wasn't even allowed the warrior's right to burn it! After his flank-chewing from Goliath, he had found out they had burned it without him.

He was 'allowed' at feasts, but until his grounding was complete and his debt to the clan repaid, most gave him cold shoulders and stern scoldings, all the adults said "This is time for you to reflect on your actions. Take advantage of it." Or "This is for your own good. Use this to come out on the other end a better warrior." Dragon Almighty, he hated being patronized…

Well, at the very least, his 72 siblings were way more lenient. He still had his heavyset blue brother and his bookworm of a genius green imp practically joined at the hip with him. Blue constantly tried to smuggle food to him the first few nights, not grasping the concept that he was free to eat regularly. Green had memorized every technique in the day's hunting lesson so he could teach it to Red himself and keep him from falling behind…. Though not before both of them had socked him square in the gut his first night back over having scared them so.

Darn it all, why couldn't the rest of the clan be more like his two brothers? Sure, they too were upset at him for breaking the order, but they at least tried to understand HIS side of the story! They got their point across but welcomed him back in with open arms! Heck, after the first few nights, he had found out they had both gone to Clan Mother to ask if they could even join him in the rookery for sunrise just so he wouldn't be down there alone!

That led to said Clan Mother summoning him. He had to report to her kneeling, but she instantly raised him to his feet. She may have been his commander, but she was also another one of his mothers just the same.

"I know how you feel, young one…" she had told him honestly, resting a hand on his shoulder in support "...More than you know, I understand. Our world and our kind are subject to injustices that have no sane rationalization. When we see injustice, warriors like you and I want nothing else but to crush the perpetrator like the vermin it is." she said with a clenching fist "To use the gifts of our power to liberate the oppressed and slay the oppressors."

She stroked his hair lovingly, making the young gargoyle sink into her warmth and her touch "But we must never lose sight of the one thing that matters above all else: clan." she held his hand in hers "No matter how dark or chaotic the world may seem, we will always have each other. Do not forget that, my young friend. For when the day comes where you take to the skies and fight alongside all of us, I only hope that I am there to see it, catching glimpses of the newest Warrior of Clan Wyvern."

That had made him feel the best he had in weeks. Clan Mother seemed to be the only one who ever truly understood him, even backing him up on the rare occasion he and his brothers got into accidental scuffles with the humans over the years. But even still, his punishment continued, and here he now was on day nineteen.

Sitting up on the castle's walls, he yearned for the sky. He wanted to leap off into the cool summer breeze and let the arms of night scoop him up into the freedom of the air. He had been practicing over the farm fields the night of the attack because he wanted to get better at gliding over low terrain…

His cheeks had blushed a furious pink when his two brothers suspiciously teased him earlier "Hmmmmmm, Are you trying to impress the girrrrlllllllllsss~?" to which he blurted out a babbling denial. But there was about enough conviction in that in saying the sky was green. So what if they still wanted to pull pranks on girls and chase them with the biggest bugs they could find? There was nothing wrong with being nice to them! NO, he wasn't working out more than before to look beefier to them! And NO he hadn't learned to read Gaelic so he could quote more stories they liked!

He snorted. Fat load of good that did him now…. He sat upon the crenel of the lowest wall in the castle, the only level accessible to him via foot. He had purposefully chosen the furthest end of the castle by the stables and wagons, just wanting to be left alone. He hung his head low. With how this whole fiasco had tarnished his reputation, he was worse than back to square one. No, it was far worse than even that…. He had missed the most important day of his life..

They had gone hunting.

A few hours ago, his hunting class had come back from training… only this time with real actual game! The cheers and hollers of the clan echoing off the walls had announced their return. The instructors hadn't intended to have the students make their first kills tonight, but when they had come across a whole herd of deer moving through a tight canyon of rocks, it was too perfect of an opportunity to go to waste! And with it being summer, all the pregnant deer had already given birth, meaning they could hunt to their hearts content without having to worry about stifling the numbers in next year's breeding stock. It had been a killing frenzy.

His brothers and sisters, clearly exhausted yet proud, triumphantly carried in their kills over their shoulders. Fat does, heavy bucks, four point, six point, even EIGHT POINT bucks. The cheers and applause were deafening… dragon alive, even the humans couldn't help but join in with a few claps over the sheer amount of venison they could now enjoy for a whole week.

And he had missed it.

He wanted so badly to flee the castle and let out his aggression by pushing his gliding speed to the limits. He wanted to go out and find the herd himself - maybe get a kill of his own, so what if it doubled or TRIPLED his sentence? He didn't want to be left out! Not on THIS! It was such a shattering denial of triumph, that he had fled to the opposite side of the castle just to wallow, unable to take the cheering. His wings cocooned around himself. He tried to hide from the distant glow of the bonfires, the sound of laughter and music, the aroma of a feast rich in meat. He couldn't stomach the idea, he refused to go to a celebration that reminded him of what he had missed out on! This wasn't fair!

*THUM*

Someone landed to the right of him. Oh come on, not 'someone', he knew who it was. Only one gargoyle in the clan was that heavy. He turned his head away, pretending he didn't hear him, hoping he'd just go away.

But of course he didn't, Red heard Goliath's massive form slowly close the distance between them with a few strides, stopping what he guessed to be two paces away. With no plausible deniability as an option, Red begrudgingly got to his feet and stood to attention, trying to keep the sourness from slipping into his words "Good Evening, Sir. How can I help?" He formally greeted The Clan Leader.

He had avoided Goliath like the plague since he chewed him out, Goliath hadn't attempted to seek him out since either. Red had kept his hands busy by cleaning the stables, helping the rookery attendants, and assisting the butchers with all this down time he now unwillingly had so no one could get on his case about being lazy in his penance. He had hoped it would be enough to keep Goliath from tasking him out with 'remedial instruction', but, no.

There was a brief moment of silence "...You don't have to spend all night alone over here. You're still welcome in any part of the castle."

"Aye, Sir." Red flatly responded to the superior rank.

"...The feast is open to you too." Goliath rumbled "...We'd all love to see you there, it wouldn't be complete without you."

"Aye, Sir."

When it was clear Red had no intention of moving, Goliath's tone tired to a request "...Would you please come to the feast with us?"

"Thank you, Sir. But I already ate" That was a lie.

"...Well in either case, your company would still be loved by the others."

"Thank you, sir. But we'll need a gargoyle on guard duty this side of the castle anyways."

"I can take your watch."

"Thank you, sir. But I'm fine right where I'm at."

The obvious and deliberate over-formality of Red's tone was clearly starting to rub Goliath the wrong way, Red didn't care, what was he gonna do about it? Get mad at him for following the rules too closely?

"You don't have to call me 'Sir', young one. You're not in introductory training anymore."

"Sorry Sir, just force of habit." he said emotionlessly, despite never using the title in anything other than reports.

There was a long silence.

Red eventually broke it "Am I dismissed, Sir?"

Goliath looked in the general direction of the white noise and warm glow of the jubilation, then slowly back to him, he stopped dancing around the bush "Young one, I'm sorry you weren't there for the first hunt. I didn't know the instructors were going to let them make it while you were grounded."

Red made the verbal equivalent of a shrug "It was for the best, Sir. I've had plenty of time to take a good, hard look at myself the past few weeks. And I've realized something - I'm not mature enough, I'm not smart enough, and I'm not trustworthy enough to hunt alongside any of them."

Goliath's grimly focused eyes widened with furrowed how casually the words were thrown back at him.

"And besides." Red let his tone lace with a hint of tenacity, he really couldn't care less what the consequences would be. For some reason, he didn't know what it was, but he felt that primal feeling that he felt at Eleanor's grave begin to bubble in his gut again… his fear of Goliath dulled with it "I've already made my first kill… And I didn't NEED anyone's help…"

For some reason, Goliath started to look brighter in the darkness, his purple leader's eyes widening down at him. More silence followed before the larger exhaled through his nose, his cloaked wings turned and he walked away. He hadn't even gotten halfway up the staircase before Red noticed Blue and Green were waiting for him the way Goliath had come, sad shock on their faces.

Red's sour conviction faltered, but refueled itself, he flapped his wings back over himself and sulked away - he didn't want to be bothered, half because he didn't want to say something he didn't mean out of jealousy… half because he WAS jealous. He sat alone in the darkness, hearing the continuing party in the distance, he was starving but he no longer had the appetite to sate it. A few more minutes passed and Goliath came back.

His eyes widened in realization. Goliath had come back with a reel of rope, the very dimensions used for tying the wings of grounded gargoyles. Red was on his feet in an instant, reeling back and on his guard "What…. What is this?"

"What do you think? We're going hunting."

Red blinked; then he cleaned an eardrum with his pinky, he had to have misheard him.

Goliath hopped up onto the edge of the wall "Unless you DON'T wanna tie up their ankles afterwards and want their hooves flinging around all over the place." he said wryly.

The beaked gargoyle's expression was somewhere between hopeful and wary. "But… But the gorge is too far to go on foot."

Goliath merely snorted with fiercely folded arms "And? You mean to tell me your wings have gotten stiff? After just a few days?"

His eyebrows went up. That's all he needed!

*SNAP!*

With an arching of his back, crimson wings burst forth in a twin arc slicing through the air. His spurs cracking themselves loose for the first time in weeks. He was upon the balcony next to Goliath in a heartbeat, who immediately tossed the spool at him "If you're killing it. You're carrying it." he snickered.

Red found himself twitching with fidgeting talons, his talons anxiously clicking and stomping on the stone - the first hint of giddiness he had felt since before Eleanor's attack. He was like an attack dog restlessly anticipating to be let off his chain. Goliath took off first, Red dove before both the purple one's feet had even left the edge. The wind rushed up to his wings in this long anticipated reunion of gargoyle and air. Goliath snapped a claw east "Follow me, hunter!"

0000oooo0000oooo0000

"Oh come on, brother. You chose now to go on a diet? YOU!?" The little green imp exasperated.

The meat was coming off the fire and skewers faster than the clan could wolf it down, usually they had their heavy eaters to hold the line at these endless feasts, but now his Big Blue Brother wouldn't even eat a bite! He had been working on the same drumstick for the past 10 minutes, when he could have swallowed one twice that big in a single gulp - bone and all (He'd seen him do it before, actually. It was as impressive as it was mortifying.)

"Just… Eh, guess I don't quite have the appetite."

The little green imp sighed and touched his elbow "I know you feel guilty about our friend missing the hunt, but nothing we can do can change it. Don't waste this night, you've earned it." he consoled. Honestly, Green was glad he wasn't much of a big-eater himself, he barely had the stomach to even nibble on his kebab. He never understood what was so damn enticing about hunting to his siblings, but he knew his brother never shut up about how incredible his first hunt and his first battle was going to be once he completed the final trials. Missing out on the big night had clearly crushed his spirits… but he at least tried to salvage the spirits of his corpulent sibling.

He only had ten more days to go and then the three of them could FINALLY all go flying again. The clan had pretty much entirely forgiven him already anyways, even the strictest of parents started to realize a straight month grounding did not fit the crime. And after it became common knowledge that the biggest loudmouth in the clan, hell bent on proving himself a great hunter, had now missed the culminating hunt and graduation feast… yeah, it was universally accepted that he had suffered more than enough to have learned his lesson.

Everyone just wanted the family back to normal and for the hothead to finally crack that arrogant smile again. Green himself had lost count over the years with how many times he had plugged his ears and wished his loudmouthed, hotheaded, chest pounding brother would just put a cork in it for a day… but ever since he'd be grounded and his confidence vanished, he'd give just about anything to have that fiery personality back. It was time for him to be welcomed back already, even if couldn't glide, but no one could find him.

It's that last part that made his stomach tie into a knot… what if he had ran from the castle and broken his allowed perimeter? Goliath SURELY would have his wings tied for that! What if-

A mighty roar pierced the night, shooting so sharply over the cacophony of the feasting jubilee, that it made the drunken babblings go silent for a solid moment. Goliath's enormous gliding form crested over the dead center of the main gate to the castle, slamming both feet firmly just to make sure all eyes present were drawn in his direction. His pearly whites flashed a beaming grin and they turned to face what was behind him, waving an arm fiercely "Get up here, friend!"

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Red had barely managed to keep enough airlift to make it up onto the castle wall alongside Goliath, cause NOTHING was going to ruin this feeling for him! He hoisted the crushing weight off his shoulders, trotted to the edge of the roof, and pressed his kill overhead. Throwing his head back with a triumphant battlecry.

**GROAAAAAAAAAAR!**

His ear piercing roar was blown away by the drunken and sober cheers exploding from his family. Overhead upon his shaking red claws was a Twelve Point Buck! It was twice, no, nearly three times his size! It was so heavy that he had to lock his elbows just so his wobbling arms wouldn't give out from the sheer weight! The sheer exhaustion in his lungs was offset by the burning glory bursting from his soul, the hollowness of the past weeks was banished completely by the homecoming cheers below.

He was home again.

Goliath being next to him, beaming with pride, was all the signal the clan needed to announce that all was pardoned. Red was knocked over by the drunken tackles of his fathers and elder brothers. Well, he would have been knocked over, had he not been snatched up from behind by a SECOND swarm of brotherhood! The poor gargoyle would have dragged under the sea of multi-colored gargoyles had Goliath not jumped in "Easy! Easy! Don't kill the lad!" he hollered in a belly laugh, forcing the waters apart to grab his student by the nape and pull him to safety "The hunter's spent! That buck put up a fiendish fight!"

The buck (held up by an extra few sets of hands right as Red was taken down to the stonework) was returned to its conqueror so he could do the honors. The young one proudly flew down to ground level, the beaming grin over his beak seemed like it had been permanently carved into it! The pageantry to be found in his victorious return had been something he had rehearsed a hundred times, a THOUSAND times. His chest was puffed out as far as could be, a proud fist shot into the air (Sweet Dragon, was the walk to the butcher ALWAYS this long? Sweet heavenly human Jesus CHRIST this buck was heavy!) But he made in nonetheless, swinging it off his shoulder and proudly slamming it to the wooden table. The usual gargoyle butchers jubilantly explained that they wouldn't be cutting it up to be served tonight - something that huge would choke the lot of them! An explanation that earned an eruption of roaring laughter from the hundreds gathered.

"OMPHF!" A small green missile of a body slammed into his chest, then scurried up his torso to perch upon his shoulders "HAH HAAAAAHHHH!" his little imp brother hollered "You did it, friend! You DID IT!"

Red would have joined in his cheering, but his little green body was at an angle that had clamped his beak shut tight! Plus, the extra hundred pounds of weight above his center of gravity had him stumbling around with red arms waving. His attempts at balance were a fools errand though, cause then came his big blue battering ram of a brother to clothesline the both of them in a bearhug. Red's talons dangled off the floor, the wind utterly crushed from his lungs while Blue's musclebound triceps flexed with enough force to hug a mighty oak into splinters. Tearful hollers as to how Blue knew all along Red would prove himself as a great hunter were yelled out.

"T-T-Thanks!" he croaked out, his red face turning as purple as Goliath's "Y-Yer, C-Crushin' me!"

Laughing brethren were able to pry the heavyset gargoyle's arms off his beaked brothers before they ended up crushing him like a grape. Comradely hands clapped onto him from every direction, his hair was ruffled-

An orange skinned gargoyle looked up, and yelped "Incoming!" before diving for cover.

"LAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDD~!"

Red spun around to see Wise Elder's bearded visage tumbling out of the sky and heading right for him. He yelped and dodged out of the way as he came in for a landing that was anything but smooth, practically on all fours and impacting hard enough to rock the nearby wagons. He staggered to his feet, digging his claws into the stone in an attempt to keep his balance. He was beyond sloshed on rum "LAAAAD~! You-" he drunkenly slurred out, before hiccuping into his hand "-You's FINA-FLLY brought the life of-shsnahsn thhhhhhhe PAR-TY with you's!" he stumbled over.

Dear Dragon above, times like this made Red scratch his head how he earned the title 'Wise Elder' when he could make merry better than a thousand men in their prime could COMBINED! But he was put into a headlock and had his hair ruffled by the clan's previous leader (All without spilling even a DROP from his mug that was filled to the brim, how did he even do that?)

With his elder's colossal weight nearly dragging him down, yet dragging him forward at the same time, he was escorted into the heart of the feast. Toasts and warrior's bashing with the meat of their fists were made in passing so incessantly that Red physically couldn't return them all! Elder guffawed loudly "Ah! Lad, yer tense as can be! Here! This'll loosen ya right up~!"

The bearded gargoyle lifted, nearly smashed, the lip of his mug to the teen's lips. Red's eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he gulped down a few mouthfuls out of sheer reflex.

"E-ELDER!" Four of his mothers shrieked. Four sets of hands yanked the concoction from Red's lips, a troop of fathers tugged him away, the lot of them doubling over in tipsy laughter at the boy's instant loss of alcohol virginity. After everything, OVER-celebration was the greatest problem to ever exist in Red's eyes!

He felt whole again, he felt PROUD again, he felt prouder than ever before! He was more than accepted, in fact he was praised. He had never felt cast out by his clan over the past few weeks, he had felt a feeling far worse than that, he had felt like he had let them down, that he was a disappointment. That he wasn't good enough.

But now, he was no longer a gargoyle in training, he had ascended into the ranks - he was forever and always one of them now. HE'D be the provider and protector from now on. A spot was made for him at one of the bonfires circumferenced by his senior warriors, all toasting with battlecries as an invitation to join them for the first time in his life. He was flanked by his two brothers, never once being more than an arms distance away from them the whole night.

He couldn't get enough of the glory of victory, the rush of triumph. He leapt from bonfire to bonfire giddily retelling the tale to the dozens who gave him the excuse to do so. He narrated how he had come across the herd, was advised to go for one of the remaining sick or the lame, but how he instead decided to christen the night in glory. He had targeted the biggest buck he could lay eyes on and slain it no matter how terrible a fight it put up!

And all he could think about now was how desperately he wanted the night to be over JUST so he could leap out and do it all over again and tomorrow's sunset hunt! Because he was no longer a hatchling, he was no longer someone who needed to be taught. He had a feeling far more precious than the praise of his parents, the cheers of his brothers… or even the attention of his sisters. For the first time in all his life:

He felt needed.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Red had to travel on foot to keep the petals of the flowers from flying off in a glide back to the castle. Last night's triumph had been euphoria, one that still burned brightly within him, but after waking up from the first good stone sleep, he felt a pang of sadness still come through him.

With his grounding, he hadn't been able to visit Eleanor's grave outside the castle walls. He didn't understand their burial customs, but he knew laying flowers at their grave was a time honored tradition. And it was time to finally put his guilt to rest.

He couldn't swipe the flowers from the castle gardens and risk getting scolded (he didn't want to fumble the clan's graces RIGHT after he got it back), so he had to go into the wilderness to pick an acceptable bouquet. However… he wasn't expecting to see the figure before him upon cresting the hill.

"Goliath?" flinching out of habit.

He had been sitting underneath a tree, not far from the cemetery. With all of last night's excitement, he honestly hadn't gotten to say a word to his Clan Leader after he had been swept away by the sea of family. He ASSUMED all was pardoned, and for a split second, he feared he had assumed too much.

But no, Goliath respectfully rose to his feet "Young one." he greeted with a nod (Red was happy that his title had finally upgraded from the demeaning 'Boy' back to the usual 'Friend' and 'Young one') "I thought I'd find you here."

Red blinked, forgetting to keep walking forward. That was until Goliath stood with one hand inviting him to his side "...Grief is something not to be shouldered alone."

Red, now accompanied by Goliath's supportive hand upon his shoulder, processed into the line of tombstones silently. At Eleanor's grave, he mimicked what he had seen humans do before: kneeling before the on one knee, placing the flowers with reverence, and saying what you had to say as if they were still there. He left out the sign of the cross over his body though - he doubted the human's God would accept the prayer of a gargoyle.

He stood up. He had planned to apologize to her verbally - tell her he did everything he could, but was sorry he wasn't there sooner. He wanted to tell her that the thing that killed her had died by his hand, that she could go to that 'heaven' humans talked about with her honor intact. But now that Goliath was here with him, he clammed up.

In the silence, Goliath spoke up instead "My friend here fought valiantly for you, Eleanor." he murmured with respect "Even if it meant putting himself in danger, or risked himself being condemned by others, he fought so that your memory was honored - nor would anyone suffer as you have."

Red's eyes snapped wide and turned to Goliath, that purple hand never left his shoulder "He bravely faced what terrified him in the name of justice." his thumb rubbed against his traps "...Go to the heaven you have been promised, faithful child. Your body shall have its guardian here on earth."

Goliath looked down at him with empathy "...After all, a leader values a warrior he needs to hold back… over the one he needs to push forward."

Red looked away, uncomfortable with the subtle praise. Goliath's voice continued "...Although a always worry for that warrior all the more so."

Red looked back as quickly as he had looked away. Concern and regret, those were expressions he wasn't used to seeing on the mighty Goliath. But here he was, lips pursed and lump in throat, his usually stern and commanding eyes now so disarming.

Red remembered now of all times Goliath's task for him: Apologize to all his fathers and mothers for having scared them. He had kept a mental tally of the entire clan, heck, he had even carved a tally onto a stone tablet he had found in the rookery just to make sure. He had hit everyone! But… suddenly….

"I'm…." Red muttered remorsefully "...I'm sorry I left the castle, Goliath. It was wrong and I never should have done it."

"You were wrought with grief, young one. We are all born with the rage to fight against injustice. I cannot condone it… but more than you realize, I can understand it."

"I know, I know… but-"

Goliath intercepted them "Young one…"

Red shut up immediately

"...You faced the guilt alone. Guilt and regret devour a soul faster than anything, more so than even the greatest of loss and sorrow. It makes us lose faith in our own free will, the thing that makes us alive. It makes us unable to feel the love we feel today because he wonder if it could have been something more." his voice was deliberate "You need to hear this: …..it wasn't your fault."

Red averted his eyes and shrugged his shoulders "...I know but…"

The hand squeezed tighter, Goliath's lowering head went into his field of view "It wasn't your fault."

Something cracked in him. He clenched his teeth and tried to look away, he took a step to ext. But Goliath turned him around with a tug of his shoulder. He didn't want to look weak…

"You are no coward, my friend… And you are not weak…" he pulled him into his sternum "...This is not your burden to bear alone."

Red managed to fight back a heave, but he couldn't stop the hiccup in his throat, nor could he hide swiping his hand against his nose.

"I should have paid more attention after the debrief." Goliath openly admitted "...Do you know how I knew you left the castle even though you were gone for barely half an hour? It's because after I heard Eleanor had been buried, I wanted to check on you to see how you were fairing… but when you were nowhere to be found, we all pieced together what happened."

Red looked up at Goliath with a jolt "...That's why you weren't at the castle when I was brought back… that's why you were at the clif-"

"I started searching frantically before the first search party could even be formed."

Guilt ricocheted through his red breast "I… I just… I couldn't stand by and do nothing… I… I wanted to protect someone. I wanted to be there for someone who needed me… a-and… and…" he tried to keep his voice from breaking "And I couldn't do it. A l-little kid is dead… and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't prove that I was worthy of being one of you. I couldn't prove I was worthy of you being proud of me-"

"Now you stop right there." Goliath growled fiercely. He knelt to the teen's eye level "You may have not been able to get to her in time. But don't you dare think for a SECOND you need to prove anything to any of us; you are a cherished member of this clan no matter what. From before you were even born, you and your siblings were irreplaceable to all of us. You need not prove ANYTHING to us, my young one." he affirmed firmly "Our approval is not something you need to earn. No matter what, our love for you is unconditional."

Red wrapped his arms around the big purple gargoyle who held him, latching onto him as the rock in this great clan.

"You are deserving of our love. You are deserving of ALL our love."

Red didn't want to say anything, he didn't want to do something that would make him start crying. He could only convincingly hide red eyes on red skin so well.

"When you went missing, I went mad. I thought I might lose you… I thought I DID lose you…" he shuddered "And if something happened to you, to any one of you, I'd never forgive myself."

Red sunk into the strength of Goliath, the madness of it all seeming almost manageable when he had him there with him.

"...It was so wasteful…." Red lamented. He pulled away and wiped his nose with the back of his hand "...I don't… I just don't understand it. Death."

Goliath let him pull away slightly, but the warmth of his purple hand never strayed far. Goliath broke the eerie silence "Are you familiar with the Phoenix, young one?"

"...A little."

"Majestic creatures, more than just legends, and great wisdom to be found in them." he said sagely "A Phoenix dies, but it never truly ends. When its time comes, it bursts into a glorious flame in death - and is reborn from the ashes, stronger than ever before. Everything dies, my friend, but that does not mean it is the death of everything. You gained the warrior's spirit and drive to fight, making you ready to face new challenges. Even last night, a buck died, but the joy and glory it brought hundreds came as an after effect."

Red didn't seem to perk up much, Goliath tried to continue "My friend. From all tragedy and hardships, even death, new things are born from it… and without those hardships, we'd forget to cherish what we love."

The youngling exhaled "...I don't… I don't know how I could ever forget THIS." he said grimly

"You won't." Goliath said plainly "...You never will. So? We own it. We remember it." he tapped the side of his head "And we move with it to ensure something like it never happens again."

Red's head picked up, one of Goliath's pieces of advice finally hitting its target.

"...Rise like the phoenix, hm?" he said out loud.

"Like the phoenix."

Red rose to his feet in silence, his legs far less weary. He gave a final genuflect to the little grave "...I think I'm ready to go now."

The exited as Mentor and Student. There was a final hesitation as they departed, Red looked back over his shoulder at the cemetery "Hey, Goliath?"

"Mm?"

"What DO you call human parents when their kid dies?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I mean, I can't really keep up with all their titles - learning their names alone is enough of a pain. But I mean like…" he pondered "A man who loses his mate is called a widower. A woman who loses her mate is called a widow. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan…. But like, what's the word for when a parent loses a child?"

Goliath exhaled a grim growl "Do not make me think of such things..." he responded "A child dying before a parent is something so terrible, a word for it simply does not exist."

"Really?"

"A parent outliving their child is wrong. It is against the natural order…. Though, there is a word that does describe what that is…."

"...What is it?"

"..."

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Author's Notes:

So, this was a shoe-horned in, sorta improv'd chapter I just made real quick x.x I realized It's been non-stop doom n gloom, so I decided to throw in something a little nicer!

That being said, this was a chance to show how I view Goliath's relationships with the boys:

To me, I understand WHY Goliath was never very hands on with the Trio when they were growing up - dude had an ENTIRE clan to look after and the boys were never short of parents for love and care. Heck, before the massacre, Goliath was actually a more energetic, positive (and even a little cocky) guy from what we saw. It's AFTER the massacre happened that the dynamic needed to change. Goliath and the others definitely became jaded, and needed each other to fill the voids. However, Goliath still acted like he needed to be the distant commanding Clan leader. BRO, THERE IS NO CLAN ANYMORE. It's just a handful of survivors, even DEMONA'S clan was bigger, y'all need to be family. However, all that mushy, wooshy lovely dovey stuff seemed to only appear once Angela came into the picture, and even then, Goliath gave it exclusively to her. I don't consider Goliath to be a bad person OR bad father, just a guy who was flashbanged by tragedy and didn't realize things needed to change.

That being said, this was me hella projecting my headcanons XD. The dynamic of child rearing with Gargoyles must be difficult, how do you even raise a child who you know will one day be in harms way, fighting to the death alongside you? How do you balance the love of a parent and the responsibilities of a warrior?

(Also... ignore me implanting Brooklyn with hella mommy issues and him imprinting on Demona when he was young. Ignore it. Ignore it I say. It won't be something heavily exploited against him in the future :3)