Reunion

[not_the_philistine]

Visitation Day came and went and Goliath still had not seen any of his clan in what felt like, and might have been, years. He still had not seen Elisa since she was nearly killed in his sleep, then vanished angry at him. There had been several times like these before, when the gathering of new crew members has been too painful for him to attend, knowing that his clan would come from elsewhere and at other times, and so podpops offered him only one chance at reunion with a loved one.

Disappointment had settled on him again, and he warded it off with productiveness. Elisa's car shone with the evidence of regular care, but the rest of the castle needed maintaining. He would invite more people in to work in the gardens, dispose of more of Xanatos' things - but first, he felt there was more still to gain by researching the Mayan sun amulet that he hoped could give him control over his waking and sleeping. It would be a good idea to contact Lupin again, but at the moment, it it pleased Goliath to conduct his research in solitude.

Deep in his reading in Castle Wyvern's library, he didn't hear footsteps until the door had already been opened behind him.

[EDIT: Subthreads now open for other characters to comment, starting with the Drunken Dragon]

Comments

[not_the_philistine]

Kang's snideness gets a dry smile. "The need has passed, but I wanted to introduce you formally. Elisa, this is Kang. Kang has been a friend to me for much of my stay on this ship. I trust him more than any other member of the crew. Kang, this is Elisa."

It was more of a challenge to introduce her, with so much about their relationship still deliberately unspoken to them, much less anyone else.

Goliath settled for, "she is one of my clan."

His deeply contented smile as he looked at her said the rest.

[governorkang]

That got a look of pleasant surprise from Kang. It was good to see Goliath happy and being sociable. He didn't miss that smile, either, though he didn't comment on it. At least, for the time being; teasing could come later. He'd let his friend have this day. "We met earlier."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Elisa had paused when it was Goliath's turn to introduce her, wondering exactly what he was going to say. The answer that he settled on managed to say a lot without saying anything. It was enough for now.

They'd have to have a proper conversation about what had transpired - finally transpired - on the roof of the castle at some point, but it wasn't the right time for it. It had been hours for her, but it had been months for Goliath. She had to give him time to adjust to the fact that she really was on the ship with him.

"If we hadn't, I'd probably still be exploring the observation deck."

[not_the_philistine]

"I continue to owe you my thanks."

They didn't have a lot of time to explore the entirety of the ship before Goliath was scheduled to sleep again, but they still had Kang's Visitation Day surprise to discuss.

"I had hoped to hear that your mate and children had awoken to stay this time. Was that good fortune with you?"

[governorkang]

"You'd do the same for me," Kang shrugged, still smiling. He didn't consider just anyone a friend.

His wings rustled slightly, "No, not this time. At least I know they're alright, and that increases the chances of the other two being alright as well."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Of course he would. Goliath's sense of nobility and justice meant that he always tried to do the right thing. No matter what.

"Wait, you mean people don't wake up just to join the crew?"

Elisa hadn't intended to interrupt, but that was yet another piece of perplexing information for her to file away. She wanted to make sure that she hadn't misheard.

[not_the_philistine]

"There was an event -"

How to explain Visitation Day when he didn't entirely understand it himself?

"Stacy released people from the pods who were not ready to be released, only for a day, to visit loved ones. Something to do with their souls being unprepared."

Which reminds him. He should explain about GLaDoS at some point.

[governorkang]

Kang nodded. "She was attacked by pirates, and got damaged; among other things, she had no access to records of people still in the pods. She made an effort to try, though, and managed to find a few." It hadn't been fair, but it had been something. "They couldn't stay longer than a day. My mate and one of my children were in the group."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

So there was no way of knowing that the rest of her family - the clan, Talon and the other mutates, her parents, her sister, her friends on the force - were actually in the pods. They were fighting for a hope.

"Souls again." Or avia. Or whatever they were called. What else could they be? "At least you got that day."

It wasn't enough, but it was better than nothing.

[not_the_philistine]

"I am glad for you, my friend. One day I hope to meet them properly."

There was always the hope that a short meeting was a precursor to a longer reunion. At least they were alive and on board.

[governorkang]

"I hope so too. I've got one daughter around, at least. But enough about that, I actually get a chance to properly meet you," Kang smiled at Elisa. "I wish our first meeting could have been under better circumstances."

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

"Are we talking about the meeting on the observation deck or the time that you saved my life?" asked Elisa, "Because I want to thank you for both. I don't remember waking up for the first time, but Goliath told me what happened."

It was strange to think that such an important event was missing from her memory. She wondered what other gaps her time in the pods - or was it Stacy herself? - had created.

"Thank you."