Moonlit Fur Chronicles: Lucid Fur
Chapter 20 Of Wing and Fang

Phoenix, Quinn, and I had completely worn ourselves out. We cuddled on the bed and very quickly fell asleep. It was the most restful sleep I had gotten in months. I was safe in Quinn’s arms and Phoenix was wrapped up in mine. I dreamt the three of us spent time together, that we were happy. I felt a little scratch at the back of my mind. It felt familiar, it had happened before. I awoke instantly to a dark room. It took several minutes to remember what the scratchy sensation was. ’Cordelia,’ I called mentally, ’Are you trying to contact me?’ ’Yes,’ her gravelly voice echoed in my mind. ’Goliath would like to schedule a visit. He has something he wants to discuss with you.’ I nodded. I waited for her response but none came. I rolled my eyes. Codelia was telepathic but she couldn’t see a head nod. I mentally responded, ’Yes he is welcome to come say hi.’ ’I will relay your message,’ Cordelia replied.

I really didn’t want to disentangle myself from Quinn’s and Phoenix’s arms but duty called. I kissed them both on their foreheads and made my way to the shower. I stumbled momentarily, ’Damn Phoenix got me good’ I thought to myself. As soon as I realized what I had done, I hoped Cordelia wasn’t listening still. I padded into the shower and cleaned myself up. The warm water felt nice. I was thankful. I got out of the shower, slipped into one of the dresses Quinn got for me. I couldn’t wait for her to see me in it. I wandered into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. I thought it comical how I had become nocturnal in my quest to cure Quinn. I wondered if I would stay nocturnal or return to day time life.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and stepped outside to the back porch to wait for Goliath. I heard them before I saw them. The sounds of massive wings was difficult to forget. Goliath and Lilith land gracefully on the lawn. I stepped to meet them. “Hello Goliath, hello Lilith. I had a feeling you would join us. Quinn hasn’t left my side, she’s sleeping now.” Lilith smiled and shook her head, “Not any more.” I turned around and saw Quinn walk towards me while she rubbed her eyes. “You left… Why did you leave?” I kissed her forehead, “Goliath asked to meet me and I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.” “Reese, I’ve been sleeping for months! I’m done sleeping!” “As you wish,” I replied.

Goliath and Lilith smiled. “There’s some hot coffee in the pot, if you want some, Quinn.” She mumbled something under her breath about her desire to show me sleep and trotted off to find the coffee. “The two of you make an adorable couple,” Lilith complimented. I thanked her and told her how much Quinn meant to me. Quinn returned in a few minutes and Goliath began. “For time immemorial, the gargoyles guarded a castle or a keep. It is in our nature to guard and protect. Long have we allied ourselves with humans for mutual benefit and protection. We can not protect ourselves in the day and we are fierce and capable warriors as you have observed.”

I realized where he was going with this speech. “We would like to align ourselves with you and your pack.” Quinn looked at me in surprise. I knew he was going to say something like this. “I appreciate your vulnerability. It is not solely up to me. We make decisions as a group. Would you be willing to return tomorrow night so I can prepare them to hear your thoughts?” “That is agreeable,” Goliath replied.

Goliath and Lilith took to the air. Quinn looked at me, “Do you think anyone will say no? I mean extra protection and new friends? Sounds great to me!” I adored how Quinn always found the positive spin of things. She was really special. “I don’t think Ash will care one way or the other. Casey and River won’t mind I think. Ellis, Kai, and Drew, I think they will be okay with it. Robin likes to stay a wolf, I bet she will get along well with Cordelia. Honestly I don’t know enough about the rest of the gargoyles to make a guess. They seem nice, very protective. I just don’t know. I’ve limited experience with gargoyles.” Quinn pondered my response for a moment. “Reese, you have the most gargoyle experience of all of us. You have to have a basic idea.”

I was quiet for a few minutes. I studied her face. The moonlight shone on her face perfectly. Quinn was unbelievably gorgeous. I could gaze into her eyes forever. “Reese,” she called softly. “Come get me,” I replied. She wore a confused expression. I smiled teasingly and let my dress fall to the ground. I ran and leapt into the pool. Quinn rolled her eyes, giggled and chased me into the water. I slipped below the surface as she jumped in. She swam after me through the deep end of the pool. I planted my feet on the bottom of the pool and launched myself upward, just out of her grasp. I broke the surface of the water and took a deep breath of fresh air. Quinn surfaced beside me and kissed me. I kissed her back.

It was so nice to goof off with Quinn. Just to spend time with her, able to forget our troubles for a little while. We chased each other around the pool for a while. Eventually we swam to the shallow end and just held each other. I rested my head on her shoulder and listened to her heart beat. My heart matched hers. “I missed you Quinn,” I whispered. “I’m here now, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” We started to feel fridged. Our bodies shook with cold. “Let’s go get warm. And more coffee,” Quinn guided me out of the pool. We gathered our clothes and dried off with towels from the pool hamper beside the back door. I slipped the dress back on, “Damn baby girl, you are stunning in that dress,” Quinn flirted. “I bet you’ll like it more when it’s on the floor.” Her eyes widened and she grinned mischievously, “I bet you’re right!” She pulled me close and kissed me firmly. A tingle ran down my spine.

We went back inside and found Drew, Robin, and Kai on the couch, a romantic comedy played on the big screen in front of them. Kai noticed us come in, “Hey guys, did ya have a nice swim?” Quinn smirked playfully, “Yeah ya totally missed out on an epic skinny dip session.” I rolled my eyes and poked Quinn in the ribs. She giggled and poked me back. “What did the gargoyles want,” Drew asked. I remembered too late no one but Kai, Phoenix, and now Quinn knew who Goliath and Lilith were. “Goliath, the purple one, and Lilith, the green one, wanted to know if they could…” I struggled to find the words. “Basically join our pack,” Quinn answered for me. “Well yeah, it’s a little more complicated than that but that’s kinda what it boils down to,” I added. “How would that work,” Kai queried. “I think they would stay here at the house with us. They will answer to Goliath. They will feed themselves. They’d sleep during the day like

always and be active at night,” I answered.

“Just like a bigger family, I guess,” Quinn chimed in. “We would protect their statues during the day and they guard us during the night.” Drew interjected, “How many of them are there? Where exactly would they sleep during the day?” I took a breath, “There are four gargoyles. That is a good question. They will return tomorrow night to speak to all of us.” Drew nodded, “I want to meet all of them before I decide.” “That’s reasonable,” Quinn agreed. “I can ask Goliath to bring the others tomorrow night,” I replied. That seemed to momentarily satisfy Drew and Kai. I looked toward Ash’s room. “Has anyone seen or heard from Ash?” My question was met with head shakes and negative replies. I tiptoed to his room and put my ear to the door. I focused my sensitive ears. I heard deep steady breaths coming from the other side of the door.

Casey and River walked in the front door from their evening stroll. I asked them if they would listen to Goliath’s proposal. They agreed and continued on their way. Ellis and Phoenix were the only ones left, besides Ash. I checked the basement, Ellis did like to hang out down there. We had made a little home office for him and River. I planned to chat with Ellis and Ash tomorrow when they were awake. Phoenix on the other hand, we had been sleeping all day. I reached for the door knob but it swung away from me. I took an involuntary step back. Phoenix stepped through the door, with her head down. “Phoenix,” I called softly. She jumped at the sound of my voice. “Reese! You scared me,” she hissed. I grinned, “Turn around, I have something to ask you.”

She stepped back into my room. I sat on the arm chair and pulled her into my lap. She listened as I explained the whole situation with the gargoyles. She was open to discussion. I let her know the gargoyles would return tomorrow night. I invited her to come with me when I asked Goliath to bring everyone in his clan. She agreed and stood up. We collected Quinn as well. We stripped our clothes, convulsed into our wolf bodies, and dashed off into the woods. Quinn barked gleefully as she chased the forest animals up trees or into their holes. I was so happy to see her up and running around again. We eventually made our way to the gargoyle cave.

The cave was completely empty. We climbed the path and sat at the mouth of the cave. I focused on the itchy scratchy sensation Cordelia had used to telepathically communicate with me. Cordelia’s mind sounded quiet and distant. ’Reese? Everything okay?’ My wolf brain couldn’t understand. I growled and shifted back to human. Phoenix and Quinn watched me intently. ’Was in wolf form. I’m back in human shape now. Yes, everything is okay. Are you all okay, you sound different?’ ’Yes, we are out flying and hunting.’ I nodded my head, ’Good. Please ask Goliath to bring the whole clan when he returns to the house tomorrow.’ Cordelia’s mind sounded a little closer, ’very well.’ I added, ’Some of my wolves wanted to meet everyone in your clan before making a decision.’ ’Thank you, Reese, for notifying us.’

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