A light in the dark (and a car in the hangar) [Open]

[not_the_philistine]

He is restless, wanting one minute not to leave his castle unguarded, the next certain of some distant conflict that must require his help. The Nightmare King is strong, after all, and only getting stronger. Even Goliath is having nightmares now, flickering visions of warped horror that he half-remembers upon waking. They could get worse. They probably will.

He ends up wandering, fitfully patrolling the ship for signs of crewmates caught in waking dreams, all the while guarding himself against one. Unease gnaws at him, has been gnawing at him for days now. It's becoming as normal to him as breathing, this edgy, hateful boiling discomfort, worse for all that he cannot tell where his natural discomfort for his new setting ends and the Nightmare King's influence begins.

So he wanders, and in his wandering finds himself in the hangar, policing his thoughts for ones of defeat (worse yet: thoughts of submission), when a bright splash of red and the silhouette of a tailfin catches his eye from between spaceships and mechanized suits of armor.

It is a car. A familiar car.

He is inspecting it even as he approaches. The license plate number is correct. There - a scrape from Lexington's overcurious talon. A nick in the door handle from when he once pulled it open for her. Little details, adding up to a sudden, restful quiet settling over his mind.

The Daligig would not have gone through the trouble of saving him only to overlook the rest of his city entirely. She is strong. She is capable. She is the equal of any human here, and they would have been fools to look her over. They would have been fools to have brought him here to be alone.

This much he is certain of now - the Daligig are not fools.

Carefully, respectful of the pride Elisa takes in her car, he spreads his palm over the hood of the vehicle, ensuring its reality. For the first time since his awakening in the Statuary, Goliath does not have to force himself to smile.

Comments

Because curiosity only ends the lives of felinoids.

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

Patterings. Maybe a thump or three, perhaps a little clang somewhere.

Either way, something's down here, sniffing at and otherwise curiously investigating everything it runs into. Some of these things get only a sniff. Some get so much as a chittering-at but all of them get investigated.
To a creature exposed to very limited and very disparate ends of the technological scale, he hasn't a clue as to what to make of these strange, large....things. They're big. They're not alive (he thinks) and they don't attack him for getting sniffed at.

It's become an escape of sorts, exploring. An escape that had originally been an insatiable pleasure, to learn all he could at any given chance. Now, with nightmares of his own and terrors to match, he uses exploration in hopes to get away for a while. To find a moment of solace, to understand somewhere that alone-ness isn't always the way of things.

[not_the_philistine]

By the time Renne's snufflings have lead him to the machine most strongly accompanied by a living, familiar smell, Goliath has pulled away from his memories long enough to notice him.

"Have care, my friend," he murmurs, still joyfully overcome by proof that he was not the only thing from his world to have been rescued from its destruction. His voice, in reflection of this, is peaceful. There has not been peace in his heart for many nights now.

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

"Eeee? Guy-iff?"

Careful, Goliath, you might earn an attempted pounce. Chittering, the oddity ends up snuffling at...well, he doesn't have a clue as to what an automobile is. Hence why he's sniffing at it, trying to figure out the thing.
The Gargoyle's voice however, earns a little grin and a flash of minty-greeny/blue across his skin.

[not_the_philistine]

As long as he doesn't scratch the car, he can sniff around all he wants.

"Yes. Hello, Renne."

He watches the creature snuffle - "This belongs to a friend of mine."

A good friend, judging by the warmth in his tone.

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

"Eee. Wha-t it be?"

Worry not. No talons are out, so no scratching. He does however, sort of gecko-crawl onto the as yet unidentified (to him) contraption.

[not_the_philistine]

Goliath reaches out to gently pluck the creature from the hood of Elisa's car. She took pride in it.

"It is a vehicle." He settles the Renne in his arm one-handed, careful of the talons, the little creature little more than a feather's burden to him. "One humans made."

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

"Eee?"

Oh...Oh, that's okay. Hm. This feels kind of nice. Chittering, the beastie sort of nuzzles in a bit. but the word quite obviously confuses him.

"Bee-cuhll?"

[not_the_philistine]

"A car. A machine. One humans use to get from place to place."

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

"Eeee? Haow it do tha-t?"

Ah, no, this one has encountered starships, dragons, mages and lightsabers but not an ordinary, everyday car.

[not_the_philistine]

"I could not tell you. Machines are not my area of expertise. But I'm certain you could find a book."

How would he read it, though?

" . . . perhaps an audio tape."

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie tries - and fails - to stifle a yawn as he wanders through the hangar. He should be able to find Goliath easily, he figures, even in here. Sure enough, he spots the gargoyle and makes his way over.

"Goliath!" He smiles for a moment, but it's a very tired smile. "Why do ye need someone who can drive a car?" He looks over, and realizes there is, in fact, a car there. Well - that would make sense. "Oh," he says, feeling a little stupid.

"I take it this is familiar to ye, then?"

[not_the_philistine]

He's glad to see Jamie. He could have gotten a response from a stranger, and then he'd have to refuse to entrust them with Elisa's car, and then he'd be back to square one -

"It belongs to a friend." The gargoyle looks to be in a much better mood than Jamie has ever seen him. The owner must be a good friend. "Am I to understand you can drive this?"

If it was a matter of learning, he would just find a manual, but it's fairly clear that Goliath will never even fit in a car to drive one.

[bonnypiperlad]

"Oh! One of your clan?" It's a guess, but given what Jamie knows about how Goliath feels towards his clan, it'd likely have to be something like that to put the gargoyle in this good of a mood.

When he's asked if he can drive, he's tempted to say 'Yes' - both due to his tendency to fake things he doesn't understand and to help Goliath. But looking at the car, and then up at his friend, he feels it'd be better to be truthful.

"No. I don't know how." He might be able to steer if worst came to worst, but he doesn't want to risk damaging the vehicle if it can be avoided.

"No-one else has come down here that can?"

[not_the_philistine]

"Yes." This, at least, he can say without hesitation, whatever else about their relationship is unspoken. "Her name is Elisa."

And she is alive and asleep somewhere, and so must be the rest of his clan. The Nightmare King can spin all the falsehoods he wants now. Goliath has his hope back.

"Not yet. But I am glad for your company." And his honesty. He would be especially if he knew that Jamie had been tempted not to be, but as it is, Jamie will just have to settle for mere companionable gratitude. "Am I not pulling you from sleep?"

[bonnypiperlad]

"Ohhh!" Goliath mentioned Elisa before, when they first met, and he remembers the name. "So, if this is her car..." She's here, although probably asleep. Jamie smiles briefly. "Och, that's good to hear. I'm happy for ye, Goliath."

He's glad for Goliath's company as well - not in the least as he really, truly, does not want to think about sleep. He rubs his eyes for a moment, even as he shakes his head. "Not really." He's quiet for a moment, then admits, "I had another nightmare, and I didna want to go back to sleep right away."

[morphitudinous]

As promised, Billy arrives in the hangar. Perhaps a little later and a little more disheveled than he intended to be, due to the interruption of another dream, but he's there all the same.

The curious teen approaches, smiling to himself at Goliath's obvious delight at finding a familiar car.

"Hey," he greets, craning his head up with a tiny grin. "Is this the car?"

[not_the_philistine]

"Yes. Good evening, my friend." If he notes Billy's dishevelment - and Goliath is observant, so he does - he neglects to mention it for the time being. He does not pat the car (he has talons to be careful of), but he looks at it once more fondly. "This is Elisa's. I'd like to keep it safe for her. There is room for it within my castle's walls, and it is not too far to take it there. If it is not too much to ask, I would be grateful of your assistance."

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

Somehow, he's managed to land on the floor without too much noise. And without any injury but he's kind of good at being the clumsy, bumbling little thing.

He'd caught Bee's voice and scent; as that had been his reason for getting down to the floor anyway. The beastie however, gets a more devious idea and crawls stealthily behind this strange contraption called a "car". Close enough but not so he'd be seen. And hopefully not heard.

Yet.

[morphitudinous]

Billy's quite relieved to have something to help with---with Wyn and the magically-inclined engineers in charge of preparing for the assault on the Nightmare King, he's felt somewhat useless lately.

He scans the car with his mechanic's eyes, admiring the detail and taking note of the marks left by its previous adventures. Fortunately, it's a model similar to the cars available on his Earth.

"This is a model similar to my Earth's cars, so I don't believe I'll have a problem moving it to the castle for you." He smiles, noting the car's significance. "I'll take extra caution to keep Elisa's property safe, Goliath."

Apparently he won't take extra care to ensure that devious imp friends are not preparing to pounce on him.

[not_the_philistine]

"Thank you."

Perhaps he'll ask at some point about having those marks repaired, knowing the pride humans take in their possessions. Elisa is not materialistic, but surely she would not be opposed to waking to find her favored machine in pristine condition.

However, there's still the matter of a missing third party to this project - "Don't look now, but I believe we're being watched."

A pause. Judging by the humor in his expression, it probably is not by the Nightmare King. Small comforts, right?

"Well. Figuratively speaking."

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

He may not be able to see to direct that playful "glare" in as precise a direction as he'd like, but it's on his face. It's a mock-glare though, no real anger in it.

Oi! You rat, watch it or I'll pounce you again!

Still. Quiet. Hoping he'd waited long enough for the right moment, the beastie then springs his "trap" with a grinning face, a pounce and a rowr.

"Rrrraowrrrr!"

[morphitudinous]

"It's not a burden at all," he says to Goliath. He's quite happy to help, but...wait, what did he say about them being watched? Figuratively? He notices Goliath's good mood, so he's not terribly alarmed, but who could---

---whoa, okay! Genuinely startled this time, he stumbles back just a little and catches his friend. "Fancy meeting you here, Renne," he quips, fondly rubbing what is quickly becoming his favorite spot---the ear's base. "Do you spend all your time devising new tricks to spring on me?"

Don't worry, the laughter's in his voice. No hurt feelings here.

[not_the_philistine]

Goliath even chuckles at the antics, genuinely pleased for the first time in . . . how long has it been? Since he awoke? It cannot have been that long. And yet -

"When he is not practicing them on me, perhaps." He casts one more smile at the pair, trustworthy friends in such a place as this, rare treasures indeed, and pulls the car door open. It's unlocked, keys in the ignition, and a fragment of Elisa's scent lingers amid the leather carseat smell of the car.

He breathes, caught off-guard by this trace of her. His last morning on Manhattan flies back to him in a smell. Cool October on the breeze high at the turret of Wyvern Castle, home after so long only longing to be, sunlight edging up over the horizon. Sleep impending. Elisa beside him.

Her hair is soft as he tucks it behind her ear. Her smell, before sleep takes him, when she surprises him with a kiss -

All this rightness. All this time longing, for his castle, for her, all this waiting - brought to fruition.

Gone again, with only a morning to have savored it.

His head has bowed as the smell of Stacy, the humid thick reality of what his lot is now, reasserts itself with his second breath. He exhales, the vision gone.

"The keys are there," he murmurs, stepping away from the door so that Billy can see for himself. "I will walk alongside. Guide you to my home."

His back is turned to the pair as he sighs again, clearing the smell of home - real home - from his head.

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

Rrrawrrr, Bee!"

Purrs. Chitters. Nuzzles. And yes, the beastie reciprocates, giving a skritch behind an ear. That is, before crawl-squirming up to become the Imp Hat again. Ahh, yes. A Billy-nest. Life is good.

And then Goliath's tone, his emotional runoff hits him. His skin flashes a deep dark-sky blue with a bit of indigo. A little frown, followed by a hopeful expression, appears on his face.

"Eee...Guy-iff noh ah-lone. Fffrrrien-d, hee-rrre too."

[morphitudinous]

Billy must look strange, cheerfully putting up with a large blue critter curled in his hair. But he agrees with the sentiment.

"He's right. We're here. And when Elisa awakens, we'll meet her as well."

With a small smile, he leans over to inspect the car keys---and then encounters a problem. "Renne, I don't think you'll fit in the car if you're sitting there. The roof isn't particularly high."