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[not_the_philistine]

In a day of many surprises, Goliath has found another. The ship that has stolen him from his home - or rescued him from its destruction - did not take him alone.

It took his castle, too.

There is no breeze in the city to fly on, so Goliath stands in the middle of the street he has walked, staring at what is either a very convincing replica of Wyvern Castle, or the real thing. It comes complete with clawmarks and laser burns from the battles he and his clan have fought there over the ages.

The reminder of his clan draws his heart into sorrow again, but morning is coming, and he will not have time before the sun rises to think more on their fate. He puts his emotions behind him and climbs the castle wall in the light before dawn, coming to rest atop the highest turret.

Almost unbidden, the memory rises again, as he retakes the place where he had it. His last clear memory of Earth - his last clear memory of anything before waking in the Statuary. The sun on the verge of rising. Elisa at his side.

You know how I feel about you, right?

How we both feel. Yes.

Good.

Without his heart in it, he takes his position for sleep - wings spread, talons on display, snarling furiously to discourage invaders.

The sun rises . . . and nothing happens.

Goliath lifts a wing to shield himself from the brightness of the artificial sun. When it becomes clear that he is NOT going to fall into a stone sleep, he jumps from the main turret, spiralling downward to the street again, where there is more shade.

He growls as he stands, looking himself over - still flesh and blood, and nothing close to happy about it.

Comments

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie has decided that perhaps a walk would be good. And while he could do so in other places, there's a certain curiosity that draws him back to the city, just to see what's changed. And maybe, just a little, he wants to be there when there's sunlight, as opposed to darkness and zombies. So he's out exploring when he comes across the castle. He stops and stares at it in astonishment, completely failing to notice the rather large gargoyle in the street.

"Was this here before?" He hadn't been intending to ask that out loud, really. It just sort of happens.

[not_the_philistine]

"I could not say," says the previously unnoticed gargoyle, who was not in a good mood to begin with and is having some problems adjusting to the bright morning light.

So really, he snarls it more than he says it. It's not your fault, Jamie. He's having a bad first-morning-ever.

[bonnypiperlad]

"Well, ye dinna have to sound so..." Jamie /was/ going to say 'cranky about it', but as he looks over to see who was commenting, he realizes that the person in the obvious bad mood who replied is rather larger and less human than he had thought. "Er, never mind."

There's a long pause while he his brain processes the fact there's a gargoyle there. He tries, and fails to think of something else to add. All he can come up with is, "I havena seen you around before either. Have I?" It's pretty lame, but he's still trying to process.

[not_the_philistine]

Here in the shade, as the light creeps through the streets, Goliath can appreciate the sun a little better. Under most other circumstances, he would be enthralled - the sun is a source of great curiosity for his kind - but he has seen the sun before, and the last time he could look into it directly without burning his eyes. And at the moment, he has no room in his heart for awe.

He barely has enough for patience, but the human speaking to him is . . . trying for politeness, he can see, and that is something novel enough for him to make an effort to be polite back.

"No. You have not."

The bitterness has gone out of his voice. Frankly, Jamie provides a welcome distraction at the moment.

A bit more adjusted to the sun, he looks up at the sky, still shading his eyes with his wings.

"I should be asleep right now, and I am not. But this is a false day, isn't it?"

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie nods. "Aye, it is. I guess it's to give us a place that feels like it's outside, but I dinna know how it's done." He hasn't exactly given it a lot of thought, to be honest.

Goliath is the recipient of a curious glance, then. "Oh, ye sleep during the day? Ye must be noc...noct..." He frowns as he tries to remember the word, then gives up. "A night person, aye?"

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

Alessa is getting a little less bothered by sunlight, but it was still far from her favorite thing. Luckily for her, it still feels a little damp and cool, so she moves a little quicker than she would if she'd been in nothing but sun and heat. She really did prefer this sort of weather.

And the castle was spectacular, enough that she lingered here longer than she normally would have. Of course nothing had really stopped the demon from moving about on Earth, though it was usually a demon's inclination to stay in the places they've made for themselves. It had been years since she'd moved from Silent Hill, but with no real home at this point, Alessa was free to explore whatever she liked.

When she saw the Gargoyle circling overhead, and then coming down to the shade, she had to admit, she was a little bit amused. As far as she knew, a gargoyle's duty was to keep people away from certain casdtles and such.

"The sun is a harsh mistress isn't she?" Alessa said casually, watching him. She had chosen NOT to look like human Alessa right now.

[not_the_philistine]

More settled beneath the shade of his wings, Goliath looks at the . . .

No, that is not a human child. He stares for a moment, because she does not match up with any of the three races he knows, unless she is a Child of Oberon - and he has learned, by now, that not everything here that isn't human or gargoyle is one of the Fair Folk.

"I used to dream about seeing it," he says, by way of response, still studying her curiously. "When I finally did, it was one of the most magnificent things I had ever seen in my life."

Of course, then, he'd had invincible Godly might and could stare into the heart of the sun without burning his eyes. Now, he's just mortal - and nocturnal.

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

That was hard to believe for Alessa, of course. Darkness seemed more comfortable, even a morning which was overcast was perfectly fine.

"I can imagine the fascination of that vaguely. I am one who was born. and has always preferred, the veil of the dark, or at least the stillness. A morning with a slow moving fog, or perhaps an overcast day, has always been a preference for me. But you...you're tasks aren't started until the sun goes down, isn't that right?

[not_the_philistine]

"They were not."

He looks from her to the lightening sky, and back again.

"At present . . . I know what my tasks should be. How that matters here - I have yet to know."

He tilts his head, looking at her again.

"What are you?"

[deep_sky_diving]

The sight of wings against the sky had drawn Tess, the high heels of her suit momentarily retracting to let her dart smoothly across city streets. Running is one of those things grasshoppers like her have to get used to... without reliable vehicular transportation on-planet, the only other good option is to go around on foot.

As she gets closer she sees—no, this isn't a—what the heck? She slows to a walk, with a slight hiccup in her walking rhythm as the heels reform, click-clicking against the city street.

[not_the_philistine]

He hears her before he sees her, but he does see her quickly enough, even in the bright light of the sun. His wings help to shade him from the sun's glare, but his eyes are made for the gloom of night, not the brilliance of day.

He watches from the street, relaxed but wary - so far, the humans here have displayed remarkably little fear towards him, and he does not want to give them reason to start feeling it. He nods at the woman, grim but polite and nonthreatening.

[deep_sky_diving]

"Uh... howdy," Tess says, offering up a gloved hand in a little wave gesture. "I thought you were somebody else fer a minute there. Haven't seen many folks 'round here with wings."

Her manner is cautious, but not exceedingly so.

[not_the_philistine]

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

If there's anyone here sympathetic to missing familiar faces -

Still. He looks at her curiously.

"Do you know other gargoyles?"

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

Kazuya had been watching Goliath for quite some time. He had been intrigued at the similarities this thing had to his own 'alternate' form, and a part of him hoped that Goliath might be able to help him dissect just what the Devil Gene he carried was.

The more he watched, though, the more he saw differences in behavior and looks. No, this was not a person carrying the gene, but something completely different. He was going to continue watching the gargoyle, but would not initiate contact, though he was no longer being covert about his curiosity.

[not_the_philistine]

The creature spends a great deal of time surveying the castle - climbing the walls arm-over-arm, talons digging into the grooves in the stone, or making new handholds as he goes. He comes to rest on the courtyard wall, overlooking the city, wings up to shade him from the artificial sun, squinting across the stolen buildings.

He catches his watcher's scent from this position, his nostrils flaring to take in the unfamiliar smell. He looks around for the source of it.

Spies do not alarm him. He has threatened no one - save his captors - and any threat posed to him, he is in more than a mood to deal with.

"I am more interesting to speak to face-to-face than to watch," he announces. Because frankly, if somebody's spying on him, they're going to have a very boring time watching him brood the day away.

[demonicgene.livejournal.com]

Never having been a man to beat around the bush, Kazuya decides to cut to the chase. "Just what the hell are you?"

Tact? What's that?

[not_the_philistine]

"A gargoyle."

To be fair, he's heard worse, but it might be the precursor to an attack. He is still looking around - not afraid, but on his guard.

"I have a name. Humans call me Goliath."

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

"Well you don't look at all happy." Wags observes.

[not_the_philistine]

Goliath is far too much of a gentleman to say "No shit Sherlock," but his expression says it for him.

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

"C'mon, smile a litt.e It's not like your face'll crack if you do.

...Though given the being a gargoyle thing it wouldn't entirely suprise me if it did happen."

[not_the_philistine]

He does not smile, but looks at Wags with more curiosity.

"How are you familiar with my race?"

[forced-unlife.livejournal.com]

A castle? In the city? Khel was almost certain he hadn't seen it before, but neither had he explored all that much. He strode silently to the fortress, pressing one gauntleted palm against the worn and ancient stone. "Something ... familiar, at least," he mused, turning his empty gaze to Goliath, taking in the sight of the colossal gargoyle guardian. His hand dropped to his side, but he did not reach for his blade.

"Thou art the guardian of this building?" he asked, blinking the two pinpoints of light that served as his eyes.

[not_the_philistine]

Goliath regards the walking skeleton with wary curiosity. He has never seen one walk on its own before.

"I am." He wonders if the question is going to be followed by a challenge. That is quite a sword he has.

[forced-unlife.livejournal.com]

Khel nodded and turned back to the castle. "'Tis a good castle. It deserves a guardian such as thee. I am glad, friend gargoyle." Well. It seemed Khel had some knowledge of Goliath's breed after all.

[not_the_philistine]

He's not sure what he expected of a walking skeleton - human horror stories do like to paint them in a frightening light, but humans are afraid of a lot of things they don't have to be.

But he expected a challenge and got none, which only serves to remind him that he is on edge, and more so than he needs to be . . . when it comes to his fellow abducted, at least.

He relaxes slightly. "I thank you." He considers the skeleton a little longer before going on. "It seems you have the advantage over me. I have not met your kind before."