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"Hold on to your scarf, darling," said the gargoyle boy nonchalantly, and suddenly tucked his wings back -- they dropped a number of feet very fast, the wind whistling past her ears as they fell in a tight curve over to where she had indicated -- it was like squealing past in a fast car, no brakes, catching the wind and skidding into it. The wind ripped Kaimi's face red, and by the time Casca settled down on her roof (with only a slight crunch on the tiles) she was only a little windburned.

"Okay?" he said, which was double-jointed -- was this the house, and was she still breathing. "Sorry, should've told you it's a bumpy ride."

"Only if you think it won't get you in trouble, ma cherie," said the gargoyle, and his grin showed the fact that he had a couple of pointy teeth. "I get into trouble all by myself without putting more people into it." (Inside his head Casca had trouble deciding whether or not that sounded awesome or cheesy, and hubristically decided on awesome.)

"Your mama or papa won't catch you?"

"Hey, any guy would've done it," said her companion complacently -- his voice had dropped to a quieter register as he cloaked his wings, carefully walking behind her (no broken roof tiles!) as Kaimi slipped in through her window. Casca slipped in through after her, a little awkwardly -- he knew that houses were delicate and he sometimes had the tendency to be not so delicate. It was the feet and the claws. And the wings.

"We don't have a dad either," he said with a shrug. "I mean, me -- and my mum. Do you have any brothers or sisters, Kaiminelli?"

The last was said with vague wistfulness without caring about the bad nickname: it seemed to just be Kaimi and her mother. No Aunt Mias. No next-door neighbour twins (Casca still resisted admitting that he would miss them if they weren't there).

"I don't even know what having one's like," he said, with another one of his shrugs. A little sister? Well, at least that was better than having a big sister with mental issues. "Can't be all that exciting, darling, I know lots of people with just one parent. Does your mama date?"

He was looking around the house as he followed the girl, admiring things in it; he was naturally nosy, he liked to see other people's furniture and decor and how they lived their lives.

"Well," said Casca, a little bewildered and puzzled for her, "he sounds like a complete a... jerk." (His mouth had wanted to form around the word a*****e, but Kaimi looked like the type of girl who might have looked sad and wan to hear a swear word coming out someone's mouth. Had to play for the audience.) "Bizarre."

Sounded like something for the police to deal with, anyway, though it did just sound -- disturbing all around. A little disquieting, actually. Maybe he would mention it to his mum. He leant up against the countertop, watching her work: was interested in milk being heated on the stove instead of -- as Lindy tended to -- in the microwave. "Haven't you called the cops on him?"

This was, to say the least, an interesting contrast to the homey smells of hot chocolate and watching Kaimi make it: she seemed to announce her aunt's kidnapping and the subsequent vampiric stalking of her mom with a festive, sweet air, as though proclaiming that her family was going to have fun with this thing. Like a little girl with a secret. "Whipped cream," he said, still more than a little bewildered.

He took a few sips, and one of the cookies -- dipped it in the hot chocolate and ate it that way. "It's good," Casca confirmed, but his gaze was still on her: fascinated in a slightly horrified way. "Darling, that sounds kind of freaky."

The gargoyle boy laughed a little, but it wasn't really unkind. He took another few swigs of the hot chocolate -- it really was good, though usually he thought hot drinks a disappointment if they didn't contain caffeine -- and winked one grey eye at her. "She'd be disappointed all her life if she was," he said. "I turn to stone at sunrise and I wake up each sunset, Kaiminelli. I only make it to school with this bracelet thing." He jangled it on his wrist. "It seems strange for me to be awake during the day. So this isn't late for me -- more like my midday, capische?"

At least she seemed to be sanguine about her family getting stalked. He doubted it would work itself out more neatly. More like end up with someone being zipped up in a body bag.

"It's not that interesting," he comforted her, though of course he had never known anything different than wings, being a gargoyle, and all that went along with it; having an angelic mother too. Then again, all of that was also parcelled in with his weekend visits. With those in mind, he said meaningfully: "Seriously, it can be incredibly boring."

Besides, Kaimi was green-haired and smelled naturally like a bath salts shop. That was something, if you counted it. "I dream sometimes," he said, "but it's like sleeping, as far as I can tell? I mean, I fall into what you people call sleep all the time if I'm up for too long, but it's nothing like stone sleep."

It wasn't even remotely as refreshing. Sometimes you just woke up tireder. Casca downed the rest of his hot chocolate: it really was good.