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[not_the_philistine]

Artificial night fell on the City, and Goliath and Bronx both awoke with their usual roars. The gargoyles bursting out of their stone skin were a familiar sound at sunset, and their roars carried over the darkening City.

Goliath dropped from his turret and glided towards the wall that surrounded the castle, landing before the gate that would open it to the rest of the crew. Elisa must have still been asleep or otherwise occupying herself in the castle, because the gate was closed. Goliath considered the gates, and the high, newly repaired wall that kept most visitors out of the castle. His instincts to keep the castle fortified against entry during his sleep were still strong, but he considered them as objectively as possible while examining the gate.

In times of conflict, this castle COULD still be used as a fortress. But if he was to open it to the crew formally, perhaps it was time to leave them open, and trust to the crew that he sought to protect.

Or perhaps that was still a step that could wait until he had met more of the crew, and trusted them a little better.

[ooc: a few players have expressed an interest in having their characters sneak into the castle to explore while Goliath is asleep during the day. If you have a character who would snoop around an old castle uninvited, feel free to tag in!]

Comments

[tetsuwan-atom.livejournal.com]

Hey, neat! A castle. Atom had passed it once or twice, but had never come across it at night. In fact, it looked downright spooky now that it was dark.

He came in for a landing on one of the turrets, cutting off the rocket boosters in his boots as he set down on the cool stone. Then he started snooping around.

[not_the_philistine]

Fragments of broken stone littered the stone atop the turrets. What in the world could that be from? In the middle of the stone floor was an opening, and stairs leading down into the castle.

Down on the ground, Goliath heard something and turned to look. By the time he glanced at the turret again, he could see nothing. The high stone walls were obscuring Atom from his sight. Goliath started walking towards the castle, without any wind to glide back to the turret.

[tetsuwan-atom.livejournal.com]

This place was pretty cool! Atom slipped down the stairs and into the castle, being careful to keep quiet.

[not_the_philistine]

The halls were full of interesting things, artful antiques and paintings in states of exquisite restoration. Everything looked very pricey.

A distant sound like stone being broken rang through the halls. Outside, Goliath finished climbing the turret and made his way downstairs, Bronx close behind him.

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Elisa had no way of knowing if her body clock was still set for the night shift, since it was difficult to measure day and night on a ship were everything was controlled and artificial. Not that it mattered. She was used to operating on relatively little sleep - she'd often heard that crime didn't sleep, which meant that it was the job of the NYPD to do the same - and that was something that hadn't changed since she'd woken up Stacy.

She did try and make sure that she was awake at the same time as Goliath, though. There was a lot that she didn't know about what she'd missed during her long sleep in the pods, but she intended to make sure that they made the most of every moment now that she was awake. Just in case it didn't last.

She climbed up to the top of the turret after the false sunset, pausing momentarily to stare out at the skyline.

"It's not exactly New York," she noted to herself, before gazing around the parapets in search of her friend. "Goliath?"

[not_the_philistine]

He was down on the ground below, and Bronx was halfway down the turret to joining him. Goliath was considering the gate, lost in thought, but when Elisa called to him he looked over his shoulder and smiled as he saw her.

A part of him recognized that he could very well dwell on the fear that he might wake up to find her gone again. Not so long ago, he'd been convinced it would be best for him to accept that everything he wanted would continue to be torn away from him.

Yet with Elisa here, and showing every sign of not vanishing back into an unmarked pod, this terrible possibility was a small and insubstantial feeling. Much stronger was the relief that warmed him every time he awoke, and found her still there.

He lifted his hand to her and ran back to the castle wall. Poor Bronx, confused, turned around halfway down the wall and continued back up to Elisa. The gargoyle beast reached the top of the turret first, sitting at Elisa's feet and panting happily at seeing her again. Goliath hoisted himself over the wall a short moment later, reaching out to touch her cheek gently with the backs of his talons.

"Elisa."

It was strange, now that he was so used to names, to realize just how much he had missed saying hers. His voice rumbled with warmth as he cupped her face in his hand.

"How was your rest?"

[newyorkbynight.livejournal.com]

Elisa had dropped to her knees to greet Bronx when he appeared over the edge of the turret, but she gave him one final pat before straightening up when Goliath joined them a moment later.

"Good," she answered, smiling up at him. Physical displays of affection were nothing new in their relationship, but this was a new level of intimacy that she hadn't adjusted to yet. Which wasn't to say that she didn't like it, of course. It felt warm and natural and, in such an alien location, it was a pleasant reminder of ... not normality, since their lives had never been normal, but of everything that was worth fighting for. "It's nice not to have to cross the city to be there when you wake up."

She gestured in the direction of the gate, where Goliath had been standing in contemplation before she'd emerged.

"Did I interrupt something?"

[carrieswar.livejournal.com]

Jr. wasn't exactly sneaking around per se. He just hadn't noticed Goliath in stone sleep up on the castle ledges there. He'd seen the castle enough in the city - especially since he lived in it now. But he never acted on his impulses until tonight, when he wandered close enough to it to really make out the castle. Jr., having a huge thing for the ancient, especially Earth ancient (though he wasn't sure this thing was from Earth) wanted to get a better look at the structure itself.

He had managed to slip in and gaze around in an awe. And he had begun exploring the specific rooms and nooks and crannies of the place. But he never finished. That was because Jr. came across the library, promptly went wide-eyed, and then went to town on checking out what it had stored.

[not_the_philistine]

There were several books open on tables, and a stack by the chair by the unlit fireplace that suggested the library was regularly used.

Since Goliath DID regularly use the library, he made his way there soon after awaking, and paused in the doorway as he saw someone had already gotten there. Someone he hadn't invited in. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy, trying to recall where he knew him from.

[carrieswar.livejournal.com]

Jr. had about three books in his arms when he heard the shuffling behind him. He turned, and looked clearly surprised when he saw Goliath standing in the door way. So much so that he almost dropped the books on his arms. But his reflexes and love of keeping such ancient things preserved as well as possible, he put snatching one of them before it fell before anything. Once he was holding them comfortably in his arms again, he addressed the gargoyle.

"Oh! Um," he knew this guy from Security. Quiet, but sort of the only one who was that large and had wings and a tail. "Goliath. That was your name, right?" He hadn't seen him wandering around ... was this his place? It almost seemed to fit...

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Normally, Howard has a rule about salvaging in buildings he knows to be occupied. But a castle, and a castle this easy to sneak into (comparatively)? He can't resist. All it took was a little climbing and some lockpicking and a little bit of greasing some hinges with those shampoo bottles he stole from Galilee.

He hasn't taken anything yet, but he's eyed some of the nicer things in some of the rooms, and his empty backpack is open in case something really catches his eye. At the sound of footsteps, he slips behind a door, hoping not to have been caught.

[not_the_philistine]

Those are not light footsteps. And there are more than two of them.

Something on the other side of the door is sniffing the air very deeply.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard stays very, very still. As still as one can while shaking like a leaf, that is.

But as the sniffing gets closer, Howard abandons his 'play dead' instinct and shrieks "please don't hurt me I didn't take anything please don't hurt me don't hurt me!"

[myboggartismoon.livejournal.com]

With the gates open, not long passed before Lupin appeared in front of the gate, venturing on in with the look of one quite deep in thought.

These days he practically lived in the castle, delving into the depths of its library in search of some possible treatment for a gargoyle's condition that he could use or adapt.

[not_the_philistine]

Lupin being welcome in the library, Bronx greeted him with a curious sniff - and another curious sniff, and another, because familiar or not, something about the human's scent still confused the gargoyle beast.

Goliath arrives shortly after his clan pet, by now familiar with the sight of Lupin studying on his behalf. "Good evening, friend. How is your reading?"

[myboggartismoon.livejournal.com]

"It makes me wish I had paid more attention in History of Magic, not that anyone could," he said with a chuckle, looking up from the book he'd selected from the shelves. "I have a few avenues of inquiry I'd like to pursue, though. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about the transformation?"

[alastirra.livejournal.com]

Normally, a castle would be of little interest to Alastirra; what drew her, really, was the fact that a friend lived there. That and the rumors of the library therein.

So it was the unfamiliar sound of hooves that clicked through the halls, announcing the shaman's presence, even as she looked around in wonder. It wasn't much like the king's castle in Stormwind. Nor was it much like the Exodar, either, though the fallen ship was much like a castle to wander through.

Unlike Atom, she could appreciate the aesthetics of it all, and kept her hands quite carefully tucked behind her, the jingling of her mail and hoofsteps aside.

[not_the_philistine]

Bronx spotted her first, but being familiar with Alastirra, only growled shortly before trotting over to sniff at her hooves. The gargoyle beast had a limited capacity to figure out who was and was not welcome in the castle, but friends of the clan leader were usually fine. He kept pace with Alastirra just in case she needed watching.

In the library of lore, Goliath was browsing through several books pertaining to ancient artifacts, in between trying to find any reference to his people and their sleeping habits that weren't simple accounts of humans having found and smashed yet another clan.

[alastirra.livejournal.com]

The Draenei was not big on propriety, that was clear. "Hello, Bronx!" she greeted the gargoyle beast, resting a hand on his shoulder as he sniffed at her. "How are you? Rested well, I hope? Can you show me to the library?" Better that than being mostly lost.

Or maybe, accidentally wandering where she didn't belong.

"Do you know where Goliath is?" Best to say hello to the clan leader while she was here as well.

[rancorgem.livejournal.com]

It wasn't any particular desire to snoop that had brought Tenel Ka to the castle. The tall curved shape of its walls and towers had just been too tempting to a young woman itching for a good climb.

She had found the Jedi Temple within a few days of arriving and eagerly scaled it several times, but its insides were unfamiliar to her, the appointments of rooms and decor from another time in the buildings history well before her own. She could not quite find herself comfortable there and so sought out other places to linger, finally lighting upon Wyvern and it's walls riddled with cracks perfect for slipping fingers into.

Pulling herself up the tower wall with only grappling hook, rope and muscle power was a satisfying task, invigorating and distracting from her thoughts and worries, and it provided a lovely view of the city's artificial sunset.

She hadn't expected echoing roars and a shower of fragmented stone that came from the balcony above her when she stopped to watch it however. Pulling herself further up the slope of the balcony Tenel Ka peered over the railing's edge, her grappling hook and one of her feet wedged between its posts, red-gold braids pulled into a tangle by the breeze.

"Hello?"

[not_the_philistine]

Newly awoken, Goliath heard the salutation and leaned over the side of the turret to spot the young female and her climbing gear.

"What are you doing here?"

He was too surprised for the moment that a human had managed to climb this far to react with anger to her trespassing.

[rancorgem.livejournal.com]

"I simply wished to climb, for fun." Tenel Ka tilted her head to the side a touch as she peered up at the big winged creature above her. She did not recognize his species, though similarities to many that she DID know of were easy to pick out.

"My apologies. I was unaware that I was invading upon your resting place."

[handpuppeeet.livejournal.com]

Getting past the walls, regardless of the gate being open, was easy. One jump to the top of the wall and he was in. Ankh had no intention of stealing or plundering or anything of the sort, but the Hawk candroid that had been safely tucked away in his jacket had drawn attention to the place, for whatever reason.

It was nice and tall and it was definitely better than any place where he could feel the ship pulsing, and so for lack of anything better to do, here he was, jumping and climbing up the walls of the castle, for whatever reason determined to get to the top.

[not_the_philistine]

Waiting for him at the top was a newly awakened Goliath, curious as to why this person was trespassing, and how he was doing it so efficiently.

"What are you doing here?"

[handpuppeeet.livejournal.com]

Ankh was a bit taken aback to see....whatever that was at the top that was talking to him. His face flashed with surprise for a minute, but he quickly recovered and stood on a lower perch, looking up.

"Looking around. A higher vantage point makes it easier to see everything."