"Knock Twice, well......"
Summary: Sequel to "Please Knock"
Words: 1,234
Warnings! Some mild Sexual Humor!
A/N: Do Gargoyles bathe? I don't think that was ever answered in canon as far as I know. And if they did where exactly did they get the means to do so. Unless their stone sleep does something about that, but meh. I find this more interesting to write about.
They find a hose and a plastic pool. And some soap. How? Goliath isn't sure where or how the trio had conjured up the materials, but at least they had something to use to bathe themselves.
Unfortunately, he had come to understand that within the massive city of glass and iron that there weren't many bodies of water to wash in. Clean water that is. There is the harbor and the Hudson river, but as with any lake or pond, they were not secluded. Too public, too open for prying eyes. New York as he had come to know was known as the city that never sleeps.
Humans were everywhere; working day and night without stop. Nothing ever stops, nothing is ever quiet for a moment. Cars, trains, planes, buses; the many means of transportation that this new world uses to travel from one place to another within a blink of an eye are loud. He's not used to all the noise. Or all the lights. So many lights. At times he feels overstimulated by all the commotion and sensations.
Hudson complained; the trio were enthralled by it. They were young and curious, entertained by all the things this era had to offer.
For him-It took awhile to grow accustomed to the constant commotion.
In any case they were fortunate in one thing-
Lexington's newfound passion for tinkering gives them access to hot water. He discovered some way to heat it without burning the clock tower down. It's an odd contraption created out of stove parts and electricity. While unorthodox it worked, that's all that truly mattered in the long run.
-
Goliath was alone when he decided to not just bathe but attend to some overdue laundry. Not that he had much. His loincloth was the only clothing he possessed. Now, that he thought about it-it was his only material possession. Not that he owned much of anything per se living in Scotland, but what little he did have was probably gone.
A thousand years is a long time.
Time erodes.
Things decay.
A long, drawn sigh leaves his lips. He blinks and looks around the makeshift bathroom, the harder he stares, the stranger his surroundings feel, the more alien it is to him.
Brick instead of stone.
Lights instead of fire.
Automobiles instead of horses. He can hear them through the walls.
The noise is still hard to get used to. He wonders how Elisa can stand it. All the loudness, all the commotion, and moving and flaring lights.
She's lived here all her life, he argues, she's probably so accustomed to it that it barely registers.
Goliath frowns, but shakes his head. He continues what he was doing. The belt buckle of his loincloth clinks in his ear, as he unlatches it. It slides away easily without needless complications.
He could never understand why Hudson desired full body clothing. It seemed like a chore to dress and redress.
But, to each their own, he supposes.
He fumbles with the old leather to wash it-grabs a washbasin, slides the belt from the loincloth's loopholes.
After being blown up, attacked, shot at, he's surprised that it had managed to remain in one piece, though some of the edges were singed, burnt black by fire.
One of his sisters had sewn it for him. Try as he might he was never apt for the craft. His hands were far too large to carefully maneuver such a thin needle. Nor did he have the patience and nimbleness needed for such a long, tedious process. But, his sweet, kind sister went out of her way to make this one as sturdy as possible.
Back then, long before his days of being titled second in command, he had developed a habit of tearing his clothing in battle. A sword or spear flying far too close for comfort, slicing through paper thin fabric. He wasn't embarrassed in the least, but the castle soldiers, especially, did not appreciate the unintended view.
"Goliath" his old friend called "I'd appreciate it if ya dinna flash everybody every time we go to battle" Goliath scowled at the memory. Humans were puzzling when it came to the very idea or presence of nudity. He never truly understood it, back then and now.
"I think they're just jealous" the captain slurred as he sipped from his mug of mead.
"Jealous?" He blinks. He was just barely out of adolescence then "jealous of what?"
He laughs, merrily drunk "eh, not everyone's just got a mighty sword laying about, lad! No one likes a show off!" His skin flushed an interesting shade of lavender underneath the fire and moonlight.
He ignores the pang of melancholy the old memory brings with it.
To his kind sister's credit, it lasted the longest. It remained sturdy and weathered every ordeal until now.
Some pieces of leather were flaking off it. The more he washed it, the more wears and tears he found in it.
Perhaps, he should start investing in a new one soon. But, finding materials on the other hand were easier said than done. Not to mention the sewing.
Maybe Elisa might know where to acquire some. But, he hesitates, Elisa has done more for his clan then necessary. He didn't want to burden her with more requests.
But he also didn't want to end up in a situation where he was without some form of modesty. His clan of course would not care in the least.
But, Elisa might take offense to it.
After a thorough cleaning, he hangs it from a clothes line to dry. And puts his belt aside. He heats the water before dumping in the plastic swimming pool.
He feels ridiculous sitting in it. It's bright pink and far too small for his lumbering body, but he finds away. He uses the bar soap and his talons to scrub away at his skin.
First his body, then his wings and tail and finally he struggled with the thick monstrosity that was his mane of hair.
It felt like hours, combing, washing, soaping and picking through knots and tangles. It was quite the pain in the ass, but the last thing he wanted for it was to get matted.
Or invite lice.
His head felt significantly lighter after he was finished. He felt refreshed. Rising from the makeshift tub, he shakes lose the excess water. They had nothing to dry with.
A creak is heard behind the door. Goliath doesn't really pay it any heed, it was probably just his clan. Instead he made his way to the ceramic sink to splash some cool water on to his face and to scrub away the grime and dirt.
"Goliath-" the rush of water had dampened his hearing. Blinded, he snapped his up to follow the call of his name only to freeze upon seeing Elisa in the doorway red head to toe. Her mouth hung slightly open, whatever she was going to say died on her tongue in light of-
Her eyes were wide-
-they flickered from his face down to-
Oh.
Shit.
It wasn't like him to swear. But it was appropriate to the situation.
"Imsorry!" She blurted, slamming the door shut, as she scrambled to flee from the sight of his naked body. It echoes. Then everything goes rather eerily quiet.
Well.
So much for making sure Elisa did not see him nude.
Very Rough Draft
Goliath x Elisa/GoLisa
Title: Effeuillant la Marguerite( she loves me, she loves me not)
Summary: Happens after the Awakening series. Goliath learning to come to terms with Demona's abandonment and his developing feelings for Elisa.
"Why the long face?"
They were high above the clouds. Nothing new, not all that interesting, at least not for him. But, he watched Elisa constantly kept nervously glancing around, checking to make sure she wouldn't fall from the railing up above.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. If you fall, I'll catch you"
Elisa frowned before looking at him with bright, brown eyes "easy for you to say, you've got wings!"
"Like I said I'll catch you"
"So like parachuting without a parachute" she mumbled, not sounding all that reassured by his insistence. He did not know what a parachute was.
"A what?"
"A parachute, its uh, um" she lifted her head in thought, tapping a finger against her bottom lip "it's like a large blanket that you tie to your back so you don't y'know-die."
"I see, so you fly with it"
"More like glide, like you do with your wings"
"I see."
He gazed over the railing, down below, his eyes grazing over all the lights and towers made of steel and glass, and the horseless carriages that zipped across the streets, though they varied in size, they all looked the same from his spot in the clouds.
It was still very hard to get used to.
All the lights, all the noise and commotion, even during the nightmare hours nothing stopped, the world kept going. Elisa had told him this place-New York, was known as the city that never sleeps.
It was a fitting phrase. Everything was always awake, always conscious that it nearly gave him a headache if he focused on all of it for too long. It ached for the quiet shore by the ocean side.
There in his free time he would walk and let his mind wander as he watched the ocean lap at the shore. His angel of the night would be by his side enjoying the quiet between them, in this solitude. It was their world and their world alone.
"You're frowning again?"
He didn't move to look at her. He wasn't sure what to say. To convey how he felt or how in a way she'd understand. Would she understand?
"Something on your mind?"
"This world is rather loud, noisy. Sometimes it's hard to hear my own thoughts"
"Oh?" She laughed a bit, it was an airy, lighthearted sound. It wasn't exactly mirthful, but it was not nervous either. He did not know to quite label it "I get it. It takes some time to get used to all the chaos."
"Does it bother you?"
"Hm? No, not really. I actually like all the noise"
"Why?"
"I don't know-" she pauses "I guess maybe I like it because it doesn't make me feel so lonely. Lets you know that they're still people out there. That despite everything, the world's still going. And that at least some things are still in one piece"
"You feel lonely?" He'd argue that it was almost impossible to feel lonesome in all this array of life and light. Yet, did he not feel the same?
"Lonely?" Elisa shrugged "not particularly. I'm pretty used to living on my own. It'd be ridiculous after all this time, wouldn't it"
"You don't have any family?"
"Of course!" She smiled "I have my younger siblings and my parents."
"You don't live with them?"
"No, we all left the nest. Beth, my little sisters studying up at a college in Arizona. And Derek's a cop like me. And both my parents are retried"
It was all very strange to him.
The separation of family.
"Gargoyle clans always stay together."
"You don't leave the coup?"
"You mean the rookery. After we reach a certain age then yes, but that doesn't mean we leave Wyvern"
"So, you guys never left Wyvern? Like ever?"
"No. Why would we? It is-was our home."
"So, you guys didn't travel much huh?"
"No, that was far too dangerous to stray far. My time was always wrought with war and unrest. Not exactly a wise time to go milling about. Plus, where would we go? The humans at the castle hardly tolerated my kind, I doubt the humans after them would be far more welcoming"
"You know I had to ask-"
"Yes?"
"If the humans hated you guys so much, why did you stay and protect them?"
"Because it is our duty. The humans protect us during the day and we do so during the night. The humans only feared us, because they did not understand us. I would not give into hate because they chose to do so out of ignorance."
"That's a rather benevolent way of thinking" to Elisa she thought the situation, or deal, pack, or whatever it was, was a rather lousy one. None of it seemed fair in any way. Their services were repaid in contempt. None of that was right. But, she didn't dare voice that sentiment out loud. Elisa got the feeling Goliath wouldn't take kindly to that, so she kept her mouth shut.
"It is what I was taught" then he stopped and considered it for a moment.
"What would you have done?"
"Leave"
She had his full attention now. A small shiver rode up her spine at the intensity of his stare.
"Why?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Elisa entwined her fingers gazing over over the steel towers and glass buildings "I guess don't have any kind of desire to stick around where I'm not wanted"
"What about duty? You said it yourself that your job was to protect and serve"
"Well, yeah" she says "but, y'know big guy, you can't protect people who don't want to be protected and you can't serve people who don't want to be served. There's a limit to how much you can do. Relationships are supposed to be equal, there has to be a give and take on both ends. If one person is doing all the taking and the other is doing all the giving-how is that fair?"
Doll Tor, occasionally known as the Six Stones, is a small stone circle near Birchover, west of Stanton Moor in the Derbyshire Peak District. Dating from the Bronze Age, the circle consists of six standing stones.
More about Doll Tor…
“Yes, love is a matter of gifts thrown in the fire, for nothing”
— Marina Tsvetaeva, Poem of the End
You know that meme where Rosa from B99 is holding a puppy and says “I’ve only had him for a day and a half but if anything happened to him I would kill everybody in the room and then myself”?
That is legit Elisa and Goliath about each other within an episode of meeting each other for the first time.
“And a Hunting We Will Go”
Summary: In retrospect, Elisa should’ve seen it coming-
Words: 1,324
1/2
Warnings! Blood, Animal Death
A03:
In retrospect, Elisa should’ve seen it coming-
Working a twelve hour shift straight was a bitch. Exhaustion crept to every little corner of her body, her arms and legs felt like lead, her back was stiff, her eyes burned red from the lack of sleep. When she finally got home, she jumped straight into a hot bath to soak. The steam and heat were heaven on earth as she sunk low into the bathtub. She wanted to exist here forever.
"Mommy!“ the door to her bathroom thundered open, the hinges squeaking as it hit the wall. Elisa repressed a groan but kept her eyes closed sinking lower into the hot water. As they say-a woman’s work is never done.
"Yes, baby?” The excited taps of bare feet slapped against the tiles.
"Look what I caught!“ The smell hit her before her eyes popped open and another word left her lips. With a loud, violent splash, hot soapy bath water smacked her right in the face.
Coughing and sputtering, Elisa struggled to wipe the water out of her eyes, groping in the dark she leaned over the tub to grab a dry towel.
There was a moment in all the silence where time stood still-after getting the suds out her eyes, she opened them only to be greeted by dark, lifeless ones. Beak hung open; a dead pigeon’s carcass sailed the currents of her now bloody bath water.
Elisa froze for a brief second.
"See!” Aila yelped excitedly, hopping up and down” I got it all by myself!“ Elisa managed to tear her eyes away from the dead animal to catch a glimpse of her daughter’s bloody face and bloody fangs which had tatters of feathers stuck in between them.
Yeah…… She really, really should’ve seen it coming.
Goliath was teaching them how to hunt. Elisa didn’t think it was necessary. But, he protested, saying that it was. What if they were caught in a situation where they needed to catch their food in order to survive?
He had a point. Better safe than sorry.
Besides, every hatchling is taught to hunt, regardless. It’s tradition. Elisa left him to it. It gave the kids an extra outlet to expend energy anyways. By the time they came home, they were absolutely exhausted which made putting them down for nap time far easier.
Elisa didn’t think much of it, well, until there was a dead pigeon swimming in her bathtub. She wasn’t mad (why would she be?) or anything just startled. Dead things really shouldn’t bother at this point, especially concerning her own career.
"Baby, where did you get the pigeon from?“
"Outside!” Vague answer. Did Goliath take them hunting? It was pretty late last she checked.
"Where’s daddy?“
"Don’t know! I did it by myself!” Elisa frowned a little.
"Aila, you’re not supposed go hunting without daddy"
"I wanted to do it myself. See! I’m a big girl now, I can do it"
"I know, baby, but you could’ve gotten seriously hurt. You’re all cut up"
"I only got some scratches, but it doesn’t hurt” she held out her arms, oblivious to the alarm in her mother’s voice “and-and I didn’t cry either. See I’m big now"
"I can see that-” the scratches along her arms and face didn’t seem too bad. Nothing a little antiseptic cream and some bandages can’t fix “but, honey, you need to be more careful"
"But I’m okay!” she argues then reached up to rub her wounded cheek “see!“
"I know, but still-"
"Elisa!” Goliath barreled through the bathroom door, she nearly spat her beating heart out. She sometimes forgets how fast he can move despite his massive size.
Also, the door to the bathroom was broken.
"I smelt-Aila!“ He was by her side in seconds, lifting his third born up to inspect her injuries "what happened?!”
"Hi, daddy! Look!“ She pointed to the bath water once again blind to the anxiety she was causing both of her parents "I caught it all by myself!” She chirped excitedly, wings and tail fluttering in glee.
"I-what?“
"The pigeon” she says.
"Pigeon-“ his eyes drift over to the poor avian floating in the bathtub "oh.” He replies softly.
"I caught it, daddy!“
"Ah, I can see that, but you are quite the mess, my daughter"
"It scratched me, but I fought back really hard!"
"I checked the cuts” Elisa intervened “they’re too shallow to be anything serious"
"Are you going to cook it, mommy?"
"Cook it?"
"I caught it for dinner. I wanted to help"
"Oh! Well, sure” Elisa pushed some wet hair from her face side eyeing the dead bird.
Right.
"Yay!“
After the fear had vanished from the room, Goliath helped their daughter to a well needed bath. Elisa tended to the pigeon, the poor bastard didn’t see it coming, and wrapped in an old, tattered bath towel.
‘Guess I’ll have Owen dispose of it. Somewhere’
"Ow! Daddy that stings!"
"It means the medicine is working"
“Can I have the hello kitty Band-Aid?"
"Yes, daughter you may” father and daughter were housed in the master bedroom. Aila was scrubbed head to toe. Squeaky clean. Goliath was treating her scratches while she watched intently from her perch on the edge of the bed.
"Aila?“
"Yes, daddy!” It gets a smile from him before he changes his demeanor.
"You know you’re not supposed to go hunting without me"
"But daddy-“
"There are rules in place for reasons; they are there to ensure your safety."
"But daddy-"
"Aila-”
"But daddy I’m not little anymore.“ She cuts him off again.
"Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean my rules no longer apply. You may not be so little, but you are still learning, any number of things could have happened. You’re lucky a couple of scratches are the only thing you received."
Her ears fell back behind her head "Are you angry?"
"No, I just want you to be safe”
"Okay….“ she says a little dejectedly "I’ll wait for you"
"That’s all ask” he gently pats her head.
"Will you cook it for dinner?“
"What?"
"The pigeon daddy!"
"Oh, right-” he glances over to Elisa “uhh-"
"Of course, sweetheart.”
"Okay!“
"Can I have cake?"
"Not until after super” Goliath answers.
"Can I have strawberries then, the ones mommy bought?“
"You may-” in her excitement she tried to scramble from her father’s grasp to the kitchen “now wait a minute. You’re still dripping wet” it took a while to pat her dry, as she kept squirming.
"Am I done now?“
"Yes, daughter you’re dry now” she hopes off his lap to make way for the kitchen.
"Puts some clothes on first!“ Elisa shouts after her.
"Yes, mommy!” But then she comes running back to their room “you guys gonna cook the pigeon, right?” She asks, double checking.
"Of course,“ she lies through her teeth again.
"Okay!” She chirps before prancing back towards her bedroom. Goliath waits until he knows Aila’s out of earshot to ask.
"Are you truly going to cook…that?“
"Are you?” She shoots back at him.
"Perhaps-“ he trails off to give the dead bird another incredulous glance "but I doubt it would be safe to consume"
"God only knows what kind of diseases it’s carrying” she grimaces.
"Agreed, but you did promise to cook it, why lie?“
"I didn’t. We’ll just have Owen burn the poor bastard and replace it with a chicken. It’s not like she’ll know the difference"
"That is true, but we shouldn’t lie to the child"
"It’s just a little white fib, besides pigeon kind of tastes like chicken anyways"
"Still-” he wants to argue.
"Do you wanna tell her we threw her prized catch away?“
He frowned "No."
"Then that settles it, we’ll just snatch a chicken from the freezer and cook it” Elisa was right, Aila didn’t notice. She beamed at the table, happily recounting her tale about how she caught dinner to everyone as they ate.
Eye of the Beholder
Halloween has arrived, allowing the Gargoyles a rare chance to go out into public, but before they can enjoy the festivities, they must first deal with a new threat in New York when a mysterious werewolf-like creature has suddenly appeared and is terrorising the population. Meanwhile, Xanatos proposes to Fox and gives her the Eye of Odin as a wedding present, but quickly learns his new gift has a terrible effect on his bride-to-be.
OSCAR WINNERS MEME [3/92] : ↳ The Shape Of Water (2017) dir. Guillermo del Toro
He does not know what I lack or how I am incomplete. He sees me for what I am, as I am.