Anyway, besides all that, here is Chapter Six teaser of Wonderland:
WARNING: DO NOT READ PAST THIS BANNER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER FIVE.
The small Tayo’c Gargoyle, Elijah, had been talking nonstop since the moment Talon had arrived at the camp earlier that morning. His excitement at first had given Talon pause, for he had never seen a child so hyper before. Then, gradually, his surprise drifted to accepting the inevitable, this child was not going to shut up.
In Talon’s youth, he had never been like the other children in the clan. As the successor of his father and future clan leader, his duties had been directed at making him the best possible leader, even at an early age. He had not grown up playing games, unless they were designed to teach him about war strategy or aid him in his decision-making. He had not grown up running around with the other young boys – he had attended every council meeting his father had been a part of, no matter how miniscule or important they were. Some adult of rank was constantly teaching him policy or correcting his fighting techniques. It was all he knew.
So to hear this young Gargoyle chat on and on about these plastic toys that changed from cars to robots – called “Transformers” – Talon could not help but note the differences in this youth and his childhood.
“Elijah,” Connor interrupted when the small boy had taken a breath. “Ursula and Quincy are going to scout. Would you go with them?”
This was exactly the diversion Talon needed. Elijah released his hand with a pout but nodded and smiled up at Talon. “You aren’t going to fly ahead, are you?” he asked, his big blue eyes wide and pleading.
Talon ruffled his hair and laughed as the boy punched his thigh in recant, smoothing his hair as he backed away. “I’ll be here, with the others,” Talon vowed, watching Elijah’s face light up.
“Good! I’ll be back!” he called over his shoulder as he followed the two females through the forest undergrowth, his chatter picking up again when he caught up with them.
Connor turned to Talon, his clawed fingertips clicking together thoughtfully. “You aren’t much of a kid person, are you?” he asked after a while, his dark eyes twinkling with unreleased laughter.
Talon shrugged his shoulders and looked around the forest. “I have little experience with them. It was never part of my training.”
The Drul, Damien, let out a snort of disbelief. “How Spartan.”
Talon’s brow furrowed but he did not ask the obvious, instead turning his attention to the still unconscious frame of the Raspan tracker. He took a step forward and looked down at the body, his eyes trailing to the bloody crescent across the left-side of the Raspan’s forehead, where Talon’s left wing forearm had struck. The Raspan had gone down almost instantly after his attack, much to Talon’s surprise. The Raspan’s, in their natural form, were usually difficult to defeat. But like his Gargoyle brethren, they too had been diminished in stature. That could be the only reason as to why he was so easy to take down.
“He isn’t trained for combat,” the Drul said suddenly, as though he knew where Talon’s thoughts had gone. “Trackers are slimy little shits…they are known to take cheap shots whenever possible – which is exactly what he did.”
Talon mentally recanted his earlier thought and eyed the Drul. “Have you seen the warriors?” he asked curiously.
Damien’s eyes dropped to the Raspan, but not before Talon saw the fear in those amber irises. Damien, undoubtedly, had encountered Raspans before.
“Yes,” the Drul whispered, taking a step towards the Raspan. “It was a long time ago, but…I will never forget what I saw.” Damien swallowed hard as he squatted down beside the Raspan, his amber eyes raking over the scrawny male’s face. “They were part of the Raspan elite. They were ‘training’ in an old warehouse on the Jersey side of the Bay. I had followed them there under orders to obtain one of my own who they had kidnapped earlier that week. When I got inside…they were torturing her for her magic.” Damien’s eyes flashed as he looked up at Talon. “The Drul’s are the only ones capable of the magic that can transfigure one form to another. The Raspan elite were the first to obtain human bodies. It became a meaning of survival for the Gargoyles and the Lunar to do the same.” He looked back at the Raspan, who seemed to be stirring. “These elitists were not of very high rank, but they wanted human forms too. After she gave them what they wanted…they cut her into pieces to prevent her magic from returning to the earth, each one taking a piece of her with them once they parted.”
“What did you do?” Talon asked quietly, watching as the Drul’s expression became smooth. Cruel amber eyes met curious grey.
“I used a spell to freeze them in place and then another to burn them alive,” he answered quietly, his amber eyes returning to the wide-awake Raspan. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he vowed to the tracker.
Talon fought a smile as he looked at the tracker as well. This Drul, Damien, was full of surprises.
WARNING: DO NOT READ PAST THIS BANNER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER FIVE.
The small Tayo’c Gargoyle, Elijah, had been talking nonstop since the moment Talon had arrived at the camp earlier that morning. His excitement at first had given Talon pause, for he had never seen a child so hyper before. Then, gradually, his surprise drifted to accepting the inevitable, this child was not going to shut up.
In Talon’s youth, he had never been like the other children in the clan. As the successor of his father and future clan leader, his duties had been directed at making him the best possible leader, even at an early age. He had not grown up playing games, unless they were designed to teach him about war strategy or aid him in his decision-making. He had not grown up running around with the other young boys – he had attended every council meeting his father had been a part of, no matter how miniscule or important they were. Some adult of rank was constantly teaching him policy or correcting his fighting techniques. It was all he knew.
So to hear this young Gargoyle chat on and on about these plastic toys that changed from cars to robots – called “Transformers” – Talon could not help but note the differences in this youth and his childhood.
“Elijah,” Connor interrupted when the small boy had taken a breath. “Ursula and Quincy are going to scout. Would you go with them?”
This was exactly the diversion Talon needed. Elijah released his hand with a pout but nodded and smiled up at Talon. “You aren’t going to fly ahead, are you?” he asked, his big blue eyes wide and pleading.
Talon ruffled his hair and laughed as the boy punched his thigh in recant, smoothing his hair as he backed away. “I’ll be here, with the others,” Talon vowed, watching Elijah’s face light up.
“Good! I’ll be back!” he called over his shoulder as he followed the two females through the forest undergrowth, his chatter picking up again when he caught up with them.
Connor turned to Talon, his clawed fingertips clicking together thoughtfully. “You aren’t much of a kid person, are you?” he asked after a while, his dark eyes twinkling with unreleased laughter.
Talon shrugged his shoulders and looked around the forest. “I have little experience with them. It was never part of my training.”
The Drul, Damien, let out a snort of disbelief. “How Spartan.”
Talon’s brow furrowed but he did not ask the obvious, instead turning his attention to the still unconscious frame of the Raspan tracker. He took a step forward and looked down at the body, his eyes trailing to the bloody crescent across the left-side of the Raspan’s forehead, where Talon’s left wing forearm had struck. The Raspan had gone down almost instantly after his attack, much to Talon’s surprise. The Raspan’s, in their natural form, were usually difficult to defeat. But like his Gargoyle brethren, they too had been diminished in stature. That could be the only reason as to why he was so easy to take down.
“He isn’t trained for combat,” the Drul said suddenly, as though he knew where Talon’s thoughts had gone. “Trackers are slimy little shits…they are known to take cheap shots whenever possible – which is exactly what he did.”
Talon mentally recanted his earlier thought and eyed the Drul. “Have you seen the warriors?” he asked curiously.
Damien’s eyes dropped to the Raspan, but not before Talon saw the fear in those amber irises. Damien, undoubtedly, had encountered Raspans before.
“Yes,” the Drul whispered, taking a step towards the Raspan. “It was a long time ago, but…I will never forget what I saw.” Damien swallowed hard as he squatted down beside the Raspan, his amber eyes raking over the scrawny male’s face. “They were part of the Raspan elite. They were ‘training’ in an old warehouse on the Jersey side of the Bay. I had followed them there under orders to obtain one of my own who they had kidnapped earlier that week. When I got inside…they were torturing her for her magic.” Damien’s eyes flashed as he looked up at Talon. “The Drul’s are the only ones capable of the magic that can transfigure one form to another. The Raspan elite were the first to obtain human bodies. It became a meaning of survival for the Gargoyles and the Lunar to do the same.” He looked back at the Raspan, who seemed to be stirring. “These elitists were not of very high rank, but they wanted human forms too. After she gave them what they wanted…they cut her into pieces to prevent her magic from returning to the earth, each one taking a piece of her with them once they parted.”
“What did you do?” Talon asked quietly, watching as the Drul’s expression became smooth. Cruel amber eyes met curious grey.
“I used a spell to freeze them in place and then another to burn them alive,” he answered quietly, his amber eyes returning to the wide-awake Raspan. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he vowed to the tracker.
Talon fought a smile as he looked at the tracker as well. This Drul, Damien, was full of surprises.
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