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Almost since the day he was hatched they'd done it. None of 'em were hatchlings anymore. He thought his rookery brothers and sisters were grown up enough to stop. All the adults told 'em to stop every time. But every now and then it would happen.

"Hey!" White-beak twisted up from where he lay to face the offender who had his two tails. A surprised black and white rookery brother stared back. As he removed his tails from the offender's grasp with a flip of each, White-beak recognized he other child as a lesser-known rookery sibling who hadn't a name.

The black and white boy, caught in the act, stammered out, "I-I wasn't gonna pull 'em. I just… wanted to look at them. I thought you were asleep."

Especially as children, gargoyles are not prone to lie. It wasn't that little White-beak didn't believe his black and white brother. He just didn't want to hear any more. Five years of having your two tails pulled as a game was enough!

The pale gray gargoyle child hopped up from the ground with a "humph!" and walked off.

Later, when the clan children were allowed to go outside (within the safety of the Clan's volcanic confines) the black and white boy approached White-beak again, as he sat watching the others play.

"Go away." he warned the lighter boy.

"No. I want to apologize… I shouldn't've grabbed your tails without asking but… Well, you were asleep - I thought. If I looked at them then, I wouldn't have to come up and ask you. So… that's why I did it." He waited to see what White-beak would say.

The pale gray child regarded his brother with a frown. But it was only because he was surprised. "I accept your apology."

"Do you… wanna play?" asked the black and white boy. It had previously been a fear of his on the matter of approaching White-beak, the most unusual of his rookery brothers and sisters. He never played with anyone and most of the black and white child's playmates either ran White-beak off or ran from him over matters concerning the boy's two tails. Now that they'd really met, he felt brave enough to talk to him.

"I don't play with anyone."

The black and white boy expected this. He'd heard White-beak respond this way before. And so he asked him, "Why?" but he thought he knew why.

"Because my tails always end up getting pulled or stepped on or hit or something else."

Yeah. Thought so. "How about if we just talk? You tails won't get hurt then."

The pale gray boy shrugged, kicked at the dirt. "What did you want to look at 'em for?"

It was the other boy's turn to look groundward. "I wanted to see if they're both like normal tails. Nobody else has two of 'em."

"I know." All too well. "And they are normal tails." To prove it, White-beak wrapped one around each leg.

"But don't you get confused over which one to move where?"

"No. Do you get confused when you move your arms?"

"Is it… weird… having two?"

"Uh-uh. But it's no fun." White-beak picked up a stick and poked it at the ground.

"I bet you'd be really good at tail-ball."

"I don't know…"

"Just you and me could play." the black and white boy tried.

The other remained silent.

"Or we could do something else."

"…Do you… have a ball?" Could he really play with someone without having to watch them and his tails? He could try.

"Yeah. Come on." He let the pale gray boy to a small bin and dug out his blue leather ball.

The two boys were totally unaware that their game away from the other children was being watched with intent eyes.

Aontoli breathed a deep sigh of relief. "How I so hoped for this night."

Her mate gave her a reassuring hug. "There was nothing to concern yourself so much over."

Aontoli remained silent. Both she and Tak knew that White-beak was their blood-child, though he looked nothing like either parent. The clan kept a perfect account of who's egg belonged to whom. And Aontoli couldn't help keeping track of her unusual son. He was, of course, unaware of his parentage and was being raised by the whole clan but she fought the urge to comfort him every time he cried or was sad or angry over his tails and another adult was closer at hand. Yes, this little one had worried her greatly, for he did not seem to want to belong with his siblings, nor did they wish to be near him. And, truthfully, it was both the way he looked and the way he thought that made him different. Yes. Her son's lack of sociability was something to be concerned about. Why else would she have suggested to the young black and white male to inspect the tails himself? She'd watched that youngster a long time, as well. And just look.

The two boys were laughing as they smacked the ball back and forth with their tails, White-beak having the upper hand with his two.

Yes. The little black fellow with the large white spots was the type to be good to her little one. She hoped Re'adae and Naersis would give him a good name.