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renferretMouse meets Zeke and Alesia, and later wanders out to meet Kevin.
In the front rooms, Zeke looks over to Alesia, frowning. "No, nothing odd dreamwise. Yo back, Kaz." The metis offers to the Gnawer with a little grin.
There's a tentative knock at the sliding glass door, before a woman wearing dark sunglasses and with short, unruly hair that is being particularly unruly today simply pushes it open and steps inside. She has a trench coat draped over one arm, and both face, and arms, and hands and neck are covered in a tracery of thin scars, some that seem to cluster and form meaningless patterns.
In the front rooms, Kaz's expression tightens just slightly. "Gee, I'd sure hope not." But she adds, much more easily, after a moment, "Yeah, sure. It's what I do, after all." She glances into the kitchen and calls, "Mouse! Hey! How's it goin'?"
In the front rooms, Alesia nods, "Yeah, well, figure if three tribe totems were in the same dream, big stuff going on. I... yeah, probably all that... um, meta-four stuff." She clearly is not that well schooled in such langauge, "Anyway, ah... who is this? Mouse?" She gives a questioning look to Kaz then to the new comer.
Farmhouse: Hallway and Living Room
All doorways in the front part of the house lead to the front hallway, a J-shaped area with the short tail starting at the stairs, the front door hitting the bottom curve, the doorless opening to the living room halfway up the long side, and the also doorless opening to the kitchen and dining room at the very top. The hall has a simple wooden floor, and decorated with a generic print of soft-colored flowers hanging on the wall to the right of the front door, and a tall table sitting under the print which serves as a place to toss keys. A closet under the stairs serves as a place to hang coats or to toss shoes.
The doorless opening to the living room is halfway up the side of the hall's J, and the word cozy might spring to mind when looking into is, as it seems to radiate comforting vibrations. A long couch sits against the south wall beneath a large bay window curtained only by sheers that manages to obscure the view in but only filters the day's light. A variety of out-of-date magazines are strewn atop a low coffee table; more neatly presented are the plethora of books filling the small bookshelves which line the eastern wall. Three chairs sit about the room, focused inward, to allow group conversations. Large floor pillows are stacked in one corner of the room, except one, which lies carelessly in the middle of the floor, apparently left out the last time it was used.
An opening in the northern end of the hallway allows access to the kitchen and dining room at the back of the house, while carpeted stairs twist up at the other end of the hall, leading to the second floor. A door at the base of the J lets out to the front porch.
Contents:
Zeke
Alesia
Cael
Chris
Kaz
NOTE: Current Farmhouse Residents (Updated: Oct 10)
Obvious exits:
Kitchen/Dining Room Front Door STairs
Zeke looks back to the kitchen as well, "What are you dreaming of Alesia?"
Kaz shrugs. "I just meant, it could be, I dunno, the essence of nobility being calcified, not the Fangs themselves. Y'know? That kinda stuff." Anyways. That's Mouse. She's a Walker theurge. /You/ had any weird dreams lately, Mouse?"
Cael looks up from his spot on the couch up to Mouse as she enters, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged on the couch.
A loud yawn precedes Mouse's arrival in the living room, and she's in midstretch when she steps into view of everyone. "Nothing at all's up," she says around the yawn. The distinct hint of New York is unmistakable in her voice. "Slept in the car, just woke up g--" She squints. "Weird dreams? Sure. Last night I dreamed about Gran's cooking. It was really good, which is weird enough, but then it grew legs and started running around the house and I had to chase it with a flyswatter."
Alesia nods, "I don't know how... to figure out dreams. I don't understand any of that symbol stuff." She admits, "Laura did, but she's not here to ask." She looks tired, cranky and now sad. "Just... I'm sorry. Maybe nothing, probably nothing. Just... want to be sure, you know? Maybe it's my past lives trying to send me a message. That... seems to happen sometimes. If it is nothing, then... it is nothing. And I am sorry to waste your time Kaz." She seems weary.
Kaz says, "Yikes. You don' gotta sleep in no car. You're welcome to crash here, or if there's no room, you can use the barn. It's warm, and comfy." She considers Alesia. "Kid. I wasn't takin' offense or nothin'. And I wasn't sayin' you was dumb. Or wrong. I'm'a gonna ask folks, 'cause it's better t'be safe than sorry."
Zeke looks to the newcomer, eyes squinting briefly as he takes in her form. He offers a wave instead of a hand just now, most likely due to the positioning in the room. "Ezekiel Hess, Halfmoon Fury." His attention goes back to Alesia then, "Can you tell me what you dreamt exactly? I can ask others as I see them that way. And has anyone seen Roxanne?"
Mouse smiles slightly--and sleepily. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it. Precaution, didn't want anyone comin' in, finding some really bizarre person and going 'oi!' you know, and freaking them out." She glances toward the Fang and the Fury--or at least, that's what it looks like, as her shades make it hard to tell just where she's looking. "What's this about dreams? And safe to dispense with the codes, boss?" This, to Kaz.
Alesia nods, "Thank you Zeke, I had a dream of a falcon, but it was... messed up, feathers all bad, eyes crusted over, and it circled down then tried to gouge my eyes out. Looked... well, wyrmy or falling apart or something. Then, I had dreams of Pegasus laying there dead, and it's guts being eaten by rats and wild dogs. The rats looked big, made me think of spirits too, so... three totems in one night of dreaming. Left me not sleeping well and worried." Then she glances over at Mouse, "You... new? Everyone here is one of us. I'm one of the Guardians. Alesia, Rises-Above-the-Demons, Theurge Black Fury Cliath."
Kaz tells Mouse, "Yes," and shrugs. "I'm th' caretaker 'round here. I'll spread th' fact you're around, it should be OK, if y'wanna crash in future." She glances upstairs. "Anyways, I'm gonna go take a shower. Catch you folks later?"
Zeke swallows audibly at the news of the dream, eyes glassing and color going pale. A diseased Falcon and a dead Pegasus? That's our tribal totem- that's us!" Way to point out the obvious. "Have you told Nike? Wait, no, no don't tell Nike." He frowns, "This isn't good."
Kaz limps off upstairs.
Kaz goes home.
Kaz has left.
Mouse clears her throat. "Yeah, new. Hang on a sec--" She fishes in her pocket, retrieving a toothpick from a small square box. "--Y'alright, that doesn't sound good. Ah, but you know, I wouldn't start freaking out just yet."
Alesia shakes her head, "No, I haven't told Nike-rhya yet, I just had the dream last night and until I find out if there are others having the same dream... I don't want to jump to anything. I mean, what if it's just me having a really bad dream or three? No... no reason to raise the big red flag until I find out if this was part of visions to other people or until I have more of them." She seems to agrou with Mouse. "Um, can I get... a formal introduction please? Sorry, just.. as a guardian I need to know who is around." She asks rather politely to Mouse.
Alesia pages to the room: Not a'agrou' but 'agree' honest.
Cael finishes off his coffee and takes a glance around, and then gets up off the couch to head back into the kitchen quietly.
"Mmmhmm." Mouse reaches up and pulls off her shades, revealing golden yellow eyes that are distinctly lupine, not human. "Right, so, I'm Mouse. Matilda Knight if I have to get formal and shit with humans, First-Strike or Gets-the-First-Shot, take your pick, Glass Walker, Theurge, Metis--obviously, and there's more to that than these eyes, but you tell me if you wanna see it--and Fostern. Just blew in the night before last from Sept of the Green, New York City, and I met your alpha last night. She said I was alright to hit the bawn, but to give it a few days to make sure the guardians and Warder knew. And hey, you're a guadian."
Zeke lets out a nervous breath, reaching up to pinch at his nose. He starts toe-tapping now, his foot bobbing with sudden anxious energy. "I don't get the ... dogs and rats? Could be Gnawers- but why them?"
Alesia pages to the room: Doing a sense wyrm.
You paged the room with 'Nothin'.'.
Alesia frowns, "Zeke, please... just... all we should do now is ask around to see if anyone else had the dream, okay? It might mean nothing. It could just be...." She trails off and shakes her head, "I could just be more insane than normal, okay?" Then a glance back to Mouse, "Hold up a sec..." Her nose wrinkles, "Ah... clean, okay. Sorry, had problems with garou not being checked for taint before being allowed on the bawn a while ago. Just better safe than sorry. You'll want to find Jamethon-Rhya, the Warder, to do introductions to be safe. I can pass stuff along but always best to talk to him in person."
Zeke pages to the room: Nothing.
Mouse sticks the toothpick into her mouth and nods. "Sure. Sorry, should have mentioned Kaz got me the first night here. And the only reason I'm a bit jumpy to get over there is because I heard some story about one of mine doing something retarded and being stuck out there. --Mm, as for dreams, yeah. Thing about dreams is, and it makes them nice and easy once you realize, you can't ever be SURE of them. Even if they mean something, a lot of times they mean more than one thing, and sometimes those things contradict."
Zeke looks from one to the other, "What if the dream is a warning to pegasus? That pegasus is doing something wrong, and he's going to find himself at the maw of the others? It could mean that, right?"
Mouse turns her head to look at Zeke. She doesn't say anything, but there's the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.
Alesia shrugs, "I don't know what it means Zeke. It could mean that Falcon and the Silver Fangs will betray us and that after the betrayal the Bone Gnawers will pick us clean, but... I don't think that is likely. I suspect it is a lot more um... unclear than that. Laura said dreams never mean what you think they mean. But the best you can do is try. So... I'm gonna try to figure it out but jumping to something might do more harm than good, you know? And it could mean I'm just losing it." She sighs, "I don't know, maybe I shouldn't have said anything, but I'd rather seem insane than not warn about something. Um, Mouse-Rhya, if you mean Kevin, he is on the bawn now."
Mouse looks back to Alesia. "Yeah, I know, that's why I'm interested in being able to get out there and talk to him. Also, no rhyas, not unless you piss me off. You wanna see the rest of the whole cursed by Gaia deformities list, or are y'good?" Her tone remains light, and she chews idly on the toothpick.
Zeke glances to Mouse and cants his head at her, there's a new debate in his posture, and out of nowhere, he shakes his head. "We're not her curse. We're just a reminder of why her laws are to be obeyed."
Alesia shakes her head, "No, I don't need to see the list, unless there is something that is a threat to the bawn?" She sounds like she thinks that very unlikely, "Anyway, um, sorry about the rhya bit but it is very hard for me not to. I... have a lot of voices in my head, um, ancestors. They... whisper at me, complain if I don't do things right sometimes. They like those of higher rank to always be called Rhya. And, I have no problem with metis. You point me at someone who made a metis, and I might be a tad harsher, but it's not your fault. You didn't pick to be born to that just like..." She trails off then shakes her head, "Anyway, just... um, I may call you Rhya anyway, so I appologize in advance."
Mouse grins now. "What, you mean like a pattern spider attached to my tail? Not last I checked, so I guess I'm good. That does remind me though, I had a question related. I /do/ have a back brace. Plastic and wire, mostly. Wear it 'cause I get constant backaches, and it helps a bit, but I can take it off if your spirits will get antsy." She glances toward Zeke again, and gives him a broad wink.
Zeke looks on to the metis and his tribemate in turn. "If the spirits get offended at such things, they deserve to wallow around angrily."
Alesia considers, "No moving parts?" She asks of Mouse, "If it lacks electronics and moving parts... um, then you can wear it on the bawn, but I suspect you should not wear it to the Caern itself. But... please ask the Warder about it, his ruling is final. But you can wear it on the bawn itself I think. Or... that is I as Gaurdian say you can. Just don't go to the Caern until the Warder makes sure it is okay please."
"No electronics," Mouse replies. "It's a bit rigid, but it does move a little bit so I look a little less like a stick man. No worries, I'll ask him first. Mmm. So is it alright to hop onto the bawn itself, if I steer clear of the Caern?"
Zeke is still filled up with that nervous fidget, and finally it gets to be a little too much for him. "Excuse me, I need to find someone." It's only on his way half to the door, that his manners kick in, "Nice to meet you Mouse."
Alesia nods, "I would think so. Moving parts meaning like... a bike or something, not like... well, it should be fine. There is a sept compound on the south end of the bawn, the guardians live there, or some of us do, and you can find the Warder there more often than not. It is a bit of a hike, not so bad in wolf but not a quick run. I don't know where Kevin is staying." She glances to Zeke, "Hey, you. Take care, okay?" She asks of her tribesmate, looking honestly concerned.
Mouse grins again, briefly and tightly. "Great, thanks. Like I said, I'll ask him first." She glances toward Zeke, looking thoughtful. "Hey, kid. Nice to meet you too. We should talk sometime, or something."
Zeke gives an idle nod as he runs out the door, forgetting to shut it altogether.
----
Lane(#300RJ)
Stretching a good quarter mile from the road, this gravel lane leads back to the Escrowe farm. Trees line the lane, leaves of brown and orange, red and gold coloring the branches and carpeting the ground around them. In the distance, the farmhouse looms above the treetops, gleaming white as the snow from its yearly coat of paint. Silence prevails here, save for the rustling of the tall grasses in the fields when the wind blows.
The front entrance to the farmhouse is on the porch alongside the gravelled road which continues on around the eastern side of the house back to the barnyard. The opposite end of the lane turns back west to empty out onto Sunrise Road.
Contents:
Zeke
Obvious exits:
PORch BarnYard Sunrise Road
Zeke has stopped on the lane, hands pressed to each side of his head as if in frantic uncertainty as he gazes down the road. "Roxanne!!!" he calls out, "Where are you?" His gait sends him pacing a few more yards toward Sunrise Road.
Mouse exits the house more slowly, keys jangling in one hand, but she seems to be heading in roughly the same direction. Or, rather, at least as far as that plain green Toyota that's sitting parked off to the side. She has her glasses back on, so it's not clear just when her gaze shifts to Zeke--but she does change direction, stuffing the keys back into her pocket as she goes. "What's with the guilty conscience?"
Zeke startles a little, "Huh?" He shakes his head, "I don't have a guilty conscience," he lies miserably. "I just really need to find someone, and I can't find her."
"Yeah?" Mouse's tone is still light, but clearly tinged with amusement. "When you were talking about the dream, you said 'what if it's a warning to Pegasus? What if /he's/ going to find /himself/ at the maw of the others, 'cause he's doing something wrong. Now you're out here calling for someone."
"I'm not doing anything wrong!" He snaps back at this point, eyes narrowing. "At least not according to Gaia's laws. The rest of the nation might think so, but you know, I am tired of them anyway!" Zeke scowls.
Mouse reaches into her other pocket and pulls out a somewhat rumbled cigarette package, as well as a simple bic lighter. "Didn't say you were doing anything wrong," she replies. Her tone is more serious now, the amusement faded. "I said you had a guilty conscience. Those aren't the same things. Smoke?"
Zeke looks at the cigarette and sigh, "No. It's not like I get any benefit from them." He huffs, "If I've not done anything wrong, then why am I so ... uptight? This isn't right. I'm not acting as I should. But then- this? This thing was never, /ever/ supposed to come up. I wasn't prepared for it."
"Actually," Mouse murmurs, as she plucks out two cigarettes anyway. "You can. Do it right, it can be real calming." She pulls out the toothpick and replaces it with one of the cigarettes. "G'on. Try it with me." The other cigarette is offered. "'Cause you're guilty. 'Cause you either think you're doing something wrong anyway, or you're worried it might be wrong."
Zeke frowns at the other metis, and reaches out to take the cigarette. "Do it right? You pull in on inhale, you puff it out. What's to do right?" The rest of her suggestions are for the moment ignored for a moment. "What I think is wrong, and what the world thinks is wrong, might be different, so then what do I do?"
"You do what you can," Mouse replies. She flicks the lighter and holds it to her cigarette, a little longer than one might expect. "Take a deep breath. Hold it. Let it out. Just think about breathing, and put that thing between your teeth. I'll light it."
Zeke fumbles with it for a minute, taking the cigarette and putting it between his lips. He bites it gently with his teeth then, clearly unexperienced in this. "Yow're foshern?" he asks around the rolled tobacco.
Mouse nods. She flicks the lighter again, though she doesn't immediately hold the flame to Zeke's cigarette. "Yeah, Fostern. Crazy, eh? Okay, you'll probably hack and cough the first go. Don't worry about it." She lights the end. "Just try and breathe with me. In..." she inhales on her own cigarette. "...And out." Smoke blooms from her lips.
Zeke takes in a deep breath, though half of it goes through his nose. The smoke hits his throat and he coughs just as she predicted. The cigarette is pulled from his lips for brief moment and then replaced as he watches her rhythmn. In, and out. Cough. In, annnnd out. "Not crazy. Encouraging."
Mouse smiles again. She continues her steady breathing, dragging in on the cigarette, pushing the smoke out through her teeth. "Right, now we add another step to it. It's like dancing, only with a cancer stick." This time, after she inhales, she pulls the cigarette from her mouth with a smooth, almost ritualistic motion and purses her lips, blowing the smoke upward.
You paged the room with 'Enacting Tobaccos calm, obviously. ^^'.
Zeke lifts just one eyebrow at her, curious and a little skeptical. Still, he follows along with it, mimicking it so well it's almost as if he were a mirrored shadow. In, withdraw, purse the lips... out. His shoulders start to relax a little as he concentrates on her, and after a moment he blinks. "It's never worked before..."
Mouse continues without replying for two more cycles, before she relaxes into a more standard, less rhythmic puffing. "Yeah. That's because this bit we were doing, just now, s'not nicotine. It's spiritual. Crazy, yeah?"
Zeke looks across at her, "Spiritual how? Half the people I know think this stuff is practically of the wyrm itself." Still, there is no denying that the metis is visibly relaxing now.
"Half the people you know probably think the Weaver is practically the Wyrm too," Mouse replies easily. "But everything's spiritual. Rocks, dirt, trees, buildings, laptops, and..." She puffs again. "Tobacco. Tobacco's just a plant, after all. And yeah, now there's a bunch of other shit in there, but it's there too. Just a matter of finding it. You wanna know who taught me this?"
Zeke nods his head, "Can you teach me?" he asks then before the story is told. "I... I could use something like this."
Mouse nods. "Sure. Once I get settled anyway, but meantime, I can help you out. And it was a Bone Gnawer. Dirty old guy without two coins to rub together, and he dug used butts out of a trash can...and it /worked/ for him. Gaia's nice and flexible."
Zeke nods his head a little, "Yeah. Yeah I wonder how flexible she is." He pulls in another drag. "See. Here," he looks about to confess then, his shoulders down and his gaze flicking between the cigarette and the feet of the other metis. "I met this Fang kin, but she was lost. Like, long abandoned from her heritage. She was a mess- tainted, and hopped up on drugs, booze. I cleansed her, and she's recovering right? But..." he swallows then, "She likes me. I mean, like likes me. Doesn't find me gross. In fact she, well, she and I. I mean." Huff, "We sleep together. So, so I was thinking that dream's got to do with her, and me... and the others? They're eating Pegasus because that's them killing him for his crimes. See?"
Mouse grunts. "Crimes, eh? They know about this Kin, the Fangs?"
Zeke nods his head, "I even confessed to the elder what I'd done. He laughed, and said I had cooties. But, but he never said anything else. So, so I meant to not do it again. But I have. A few times. And, I want to."
Mouse jerks a thumb at herself. "Theurge. So mind that. Also, mind I'm a fucking urrah too. But hell. So you've told them she exists, told them you're sleeping with her, and what? They're usually picky, I thought, but they /said/ anything about it?"
Zeke shakes his head, "I only told them of the once. Because I felt so guilty. He got mad- I think, anyway, for a moment, then burst into laughter. He had found out she was tainted, and so I think he found it amusing that I just... did that, with someone who was, well like I said. He said I had cooties from it. But they've not taken her to some nice place to live, they haven't been around to help her. I have. It's been me looking after her."
Another grunt. "Well, if you're that worried over it, tell them again. That's territory, I'd say, but other than that?" Mouse shrugs. "The hell crimes are you committing, if they haven't even bothered to tell you not to? And for /that/ matter, their territory also happens to be a thinking breathing intelligent person who can make her own damned decisions."
Zeke nods his head, "I agree. And so does Roxanne. And it's not a if I am breaking the litany, I'm not. There's no law says we can't do that sort of thing." He becomes more resolute then. "So, so tell them again? Just say that I am having relations with her?"
"Remind them," Mouse says. "And be respectful and apologetic and shit. And mind, it may go badly. But they can't draw you up on territory issues, I'd think, as you've /told/ them, and told them /again/. And for that matter, what? She's kin, you're metis, it's not charach and you can't even give her kids and mess up that pedigree or whatever. If it goes badly, it goes badly."
Zeke nods his head, bobbing it anxiously. "I keep saying that to myself. But how come then I feel like I've been so wretched?"
Mouse sprinkles ash on the ground. "Prrrrobably because you're a male Black Fury metis. Mind, that's just a biased guess."
Zeke nods his head, "Yes, probably. I should know better, and yet now that I've done this, it's like I am deciding there is nothign to know better about." The cigarette goes back into his mouth. "I need to find Cedric then. And you, you will show me how to make the cigarettes work all the time?"
Mouse nods. "Yeah. Like I said, when I get settled and such. I still need to find this Jack Salem guy."
Zeke nods his head. "Thanks. I mean, really. Thanks." The sentiment is genuine, and as the Fury takes in another big drag, he finally drops the cigarette to the ground and steps it out with his shoe. The butt is picked up then and put into his pocket, apparently to be more properly discarded later, and then he is off.
----
Small Creek
A small creek, no more than a mere trickle, winds through the forest. Small pebbles shine wetly as the water flows past them. The creek has worn a slight indentation into the forest floor and tree roots can be seen poking out of the soil near the creek. Moss grows on the banks of the creek, and the occasional mushroom can be seen sticking out from the soil near the roots of a tree. Scurrying sounds can be heard through the underbrush, probably from field mice or other small woodland critters.
The forest looms over the creek on all sides, looking mysterious and foreboding.
Contents:
Power-Up
Obvious exits:
Forest
Reggie has arrived.
Down by the little creek, a single young male wolf is lying, front paws forwards and head resting on them, staring into the water. Perhaps he's looking at his own reflection, or perhaps he's merely dozing with his eyes open.
An unfamiliar howl sounds in the distance, short and direct. ~I am looking for Power-Up.~
The recumbent wolf slowly stands up, stretches impressively and yawns even more so, before delivering an unhurried howl in return. He is here and I am he.
The stranger also appears to be in no true hurry, as she is a long time in appearing, and when she does, her pace--strange, bizarre lope that it is--carries no sense of urgency. It's a wolf...or at least, it /looks/ something like a wolf, from the head to the shoulders, but its spine is far too long to be natural, and the long tail trailing behind it is more appropriate to a ferret or a weasel than a wolf, or even a cat.
Power-Up's hackles immediately raise into bristling mode. Was it you who howled? he demands stiffly.
The stranger indicates that yes, it was. Her ears push forward, and she seems to be studying Power-Up intently, but his bristling does not seem to create any concern in her posture. She's a lanky creature, even beyond her strange spine, with no extra muscle mass to speak of. I am First-Strike, she offers, a crescent moon of Cockroach, and second rank. --And mule, she adds, with an amused chuff.
Power-Up seems mollified, especially when the mention is made of the newcomer's rank. His hackles gradually return to normal, and his tail droops. What do you do here, so far from the city, child of roach? he enquires.
The rustling of dead autumn leaves gives away Snakepatcher's less than steathy approach long before the ragged grey wolf arrives within sight or scent. The Uktena peers intensely at the misproportioned wolf, gawking at the tail, before he addresses either wolf present. I wondered whose howl that was. The new Walker?
First-Strike's right ear turns, tracking Snakepatcher's movements as he approaches. Yes, she confirms to the Uktena, before she looks back toward Power-Up. This one was coming to find you. Are you allowed to take two legs?
Power-Up turns to Snakepatcher. Am I allowed to take two legs? he echoes.
Snakepatcher paces up to First-Strike, sniffing at the wolf as though not expecting her to scent entirely as wolf. He pauses to stare at Power-Up. Has anyone forbidden you from it?
First-Strike smells like a wolf, though she smells like a wolf that has spent years and years in the big city, as well as one with a smoking habit. She glances to Snakepatcher, then twists her other ear in Power-Up's direction.
Perhaps some of the Guardians think that walking on two legs is of the Weaver, Power-Up responds. The bitterness in his body language is impossible to hide, or to ignore.
First-Strike snorts at this suggestion. Take two-legs, unless they have told you specifically not to.
Snakepatcher regards the Ragabash. I have seen them all walking on two legs, he replies.
Power-Up does finally take two legs. Briefly he goes up through the hulking war-form, then down to glabro and eventually into homid, revealing himself to be a thin, long-legged teen in a muddy tracksuit. He also smells rather bad -- what was a normal wolf scent in lupus has become a definitely unwashed one in homid.
Power-Up contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Power-Up shifts into Homid form.
First-Strike's nose twitches once, and then she too shifts upward, where the tail is either gone or hidden beneath her clothes, and that bizarrely lengthened spine is extremely muted. The scars though, those remain, more visible now without fur to obscure them. She looks like she just stepped out of the Matrix, with dark glasses obscuring her eyes, and wearing a black trench coat--which she promptly sheds carelessly onto the ground. "Got into a bit of trouble, so I hear?" The voice is unmistakably New Yorker.
You have shifted to Homid form.
Snakepatcher remains in wolf form, his muzzle dipping back to First-Strike for another sniff as the metis changes, and otherwise remains put.
Kevin looks at the metis with interest. "You could say that," he said. "But don't tell me you came all the way from the East Coast to say that to me, or I'll call you a liar, fostern or no fostern."
Mouse smells the same as she did before, with the addition of clothes this time. "'Course not," she says to the other Walker. "I haven't even met your elder yet, but a whole lot of people've filled me in on you. Mostly, those that are a little worried. But anyway." She holds out one scarred hand. "Name's Mouse. Matilda Knight only when I have to with humans, First Strike as I said, or Gets-the-First-Shot, or whatever. From Sept of the Green."
Snakepatcher tilts his head, an ear perking, at Matilda's words, and he watches the other Walker's reaction.
Kevin hesitates a second, then shoves his own (dirty) hand out and grips Matilda's. "Nice to meet you," he mutters. "I got people worried, huh? Like who?"
Mouse shakes the hand firmly, seemingly unbothered by the dirt. "Like your packmate Kaz, for instance. So..." She pulls her glasses off, revealing golden yellow eyes that are clearly lupine, rather than human. "You wanna tell me what craziness got into your head for all this?" Her tone is fairly light.
Snakepatcher peers upward at Matilda at the question, then resumes watching Kevin.
Kevin frowns angrily. "Oh, I just stopped the caern being eaten by a Weaver spirit," he says, "and showed up the guardians for letting it onto the bawn. We can't have that, now can we?"
Mouse's light tone is implacable. "After leading it toward the Caern in the first place."
Snakepatcher looks away from Kevin, and he scratches behind his ear. Apparently the words are wearing old on him.
"I did not," Kevin snaps. "It was already headed for the caern. Anyone who says otherwise is lying."
Mouse's strange eyes settle on Kevin. Her expression is impassive, and she doesn't say anything for several long, rather uncomfortable moments.
Snakepatcher resumes his study of Kevin for a few moments, then resumes scratching his ear.
"Anyway," Kevin says, finally breaking the silence, "I killed it. Along with the cubs. But not quickly enough, seems. Now, what can I do for you?"
"You can tell me the truth," Mouse replies evenly. "The whole thing would be really grand. Generally getting a year long punishment isn't the response to saving the Caern near-single-handedly."
Snakepatcher's scratching ceases at Matilda's words, and he's still.
"All I did wrong," Kevin insists shrilly, "was wait until the last moment before killing it. I should have realised it was a threat before. But I'm not a theurge like you, I don't know much about spirits, and I didn't want to start a firefight with one on the bawn, okay? Besides, our tribe respects the Weaver. Sometimes."
"Which is what you did wrong," Mouse says, though there's a faint easing of her posture, and she brushes one hand back through her hair. "Yeah, our tribe respects the Weaver. But we're not allies. She doesn't make allies, any more than the Wyld does--which, I'll point out right now, plenty of the other tribes end up making that mistake /themselves/. So you aren't alone in that. And no, you aren't a theurge. And I'm kinda sorry it seems like you really haven't had any Theurges to make that clear to you until now."
Snakepatcher breaks from his stillness to circle around Kevin, and he regards Matilda. There is much that has not been made clear. The cubs had Weaver items. Weaver items that can call further out than a howl--these ~cell phones~ are not permitted on the bawn.
"We did have one," Kevin says in a more subdued voice. "But she died. A roach ate her. She was pretty cool." Then he turns to Snakepatcher and points out "I didn't know they had the things. Fair enough, I should have frisked the little sods..."
Mouse shifts her gaze to Snakepatcher, and in that same even voice, "Do we know if the Weaver spirit followed the cell phones?. If there was only one Weaver spirit, I doubt it came from the cell phones themselves, if there was more than one." She glances back toward Kevin. "Kid, I need to try and find your elder still. You stick out here, do what you've got to do, keep your nose to the ground. I'll come back to see you soon. --And," she adds, eyes narrowing, "I'll see about this damned cell phone business."
The damage is done, the Uktena replies. The Weaver items have been taken from the cubs, given to their Elder, and the cubs--enlightened.
"Yes, ma'am," Kevin says meekly -- whether real or feigned meekness who knows? "Listen, though, don't be nasty to the cubs about it, they knew no better. I'm carrying the can for the whole thing, and if anyone has to, best it's me... Will I see you out here again?" There's an air of suppressed desperation behind that last question.
"Yeah, well," Mouse replies, her voice tinged with the faintest amount of impatience, "If the spirit didn't /come/ from the cell phones, it came from somewhere else. Which means you've still got a potential problem, because, crazy as it sounds, Weaver doesn't need cell phones or high electronics to wander into your Bawn. See this rock here? That tree? Those are Weaver too, they're just natural and not human-made." She glances toward Kevin. "Yeah. Soon. Few days or so, maybe sooner."
The cubs have cooperated, Snakepatcher replies, with a glance at Kevin. And they show that they can learn. He regards the rock and tree as indicated, with an easy air. Weaver, Wyld, both. A wyld spirit seeking to drain the caern would also be fought. Has also been fought.
Mouse's mouth thins as she starts back toward the farmhouse. "Yeah, sorry. I think I'm a bit twitchy today. Not used to this kind've Caern and all. /Plus/, definitely not used to my tribe being...uh. Like this."
The Uktena paces back with Matilda towards the farmhouse. Many of us fought a Wyld spirit that came directly into our caern and started changing things--acorns into oaks, rocks into sand, and many of us were changed in the process. The Weaver may have come from the ape-buildings nearby--they grow, and build their places into the woods, and grow even more. The Uktena twitches an ear at Matilda's phrasing. Like what?
Mouse hehs. "Well, where to start. There are like, three cliaths--Kevin, this Jack Salem, and Kavi. One's stuck on the bawn for a damned /year/, which means he's theoretically useful to you, but he isn't going to be able to help us at all, the other seems to be an ex-everything and, at least from what people keep telling me, a little desperate to give away eldership, and Kavi seems to have his head on. Everyone /else/ apparently hasn't been seen for ages. Three cubs, at least one of which with something of an attitude problem. And I am the /highest/ ranking Garou and I'm a /Fostern/."
The Uktena flickers his ear at Matilda's count. There are more. Hunter, the one who placed silver in a cub's hands. Heart-Throb, who lives not here, but speaks of staying here. You are highest at Fostern? Good. The ex-everything was a Sept Alpha and Cliath.
Mouse stops right in her tracks. She stares at Snakepatcher. "...What?"
Snakepatcher continues pacing on before he also stops, and looks back at the Walker. It was many seasons ago. He did not stay long at either. I watched his challenge for the second rank--judging the previous Alpha who had left.
Mouse rakes at her hair again. "You're telling me, that this Jack Salem guy, the ex-everything, current Walker elder, charach...he managed Sept Alpha while he was still /cliath/? I mean, even if he was Alpha as cliath for two fucking seconds before fostern...you're telling me this guy has done all that, and people are thinking just 'cause I'm a damned fostern he's gonna give me the eldership? And that I could even /remotely/ do a better job?"
Snakepatcher looks to where they were going, then with a sigh, circles about to rejoin Matilda. I do not know what he will do. You have listened to much that has happened recently. Do you think you can do better?
Mouse grimaces. "I don't know what he's done recently. The bit with the silver, he was apparently not elder, and not here. No one's mentioned him in connection with what happened with Kevin." She looks at Snakepatcher, frowning. "I don't know what your tribe does with metis. You know what mine does?"
Snakepatcher regards Matilda. Keeps them?, he ventures.
Mouse snorts. "Well, yeah, obviously. They're good about it. My tribe, I mean. I've had a real decent time of things for what I am. We're flexible. We're about adapting and surviving and /changing/ as needed, so if you're a metis, and you're competent, and you're /useful/, then you've got a place, and it's not too bad."
Snakepatcher studies Matilda at her words. There is a young Metis being raised on the bawn. She cannot shift, yet. The Veil is to be protected from her, so she is kept deep within the woods. Oh, and she is Bone Gnawer, the Uktena adds with an air of 'what do you expect'.
Mouse waves her hand. "I know Bone Gnawers. They run the Sept of the Green. It's everyone else I'm not really familiar with. But anyway. My point is, I've got no real complaints. I've seen other metis from other tribes, I've heard a few things. But see, there's a difference between that view of 'metis have a useful place' and metis /leading/. It's making me a little nervous. Didn't expect it would ever apply to me beyond maybe a pack alphaship."
Snakepatcher paces unsettledly. My packmate is Metis and leader of the Bone Gnawers. Your tribe must choose between a Charach and a Metis to lead. You must have known there are few high-ranked of your tribe here.
Mouse continues forward after a moment, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Ask her sometime," she says finally, "how long it took her to get herself up to that. And...I knew the Walkers down here were low on numbers and having problems, yeah. But y'gotta understand, the Green? The alpha is a Bone Gnawer /Elder/. My elder there was Adren. The possibility of me being an elder for the tribe in New York was so far removed from anything /resembling/ reality it just never crossed my mind. I didn't realize that we were uh...quite this scattered on the West Coast."
Snakepatcher resumes the trek. After a while, he informs Matilta that Athro of her tribe have been here. One was a Sept Alpha, very long ago. Another was not. Both of these left, long ago. This is a wild place, perhaps they prefer cities elsewhere.
Mouse continues to walk in silence, apparently content with it until Snakepatcher begins speaking again. "Maybe. I don't know. Central Park is wild too, you know, and a million humans walk through it every day." She glances to the side. "...Do humans even come out here?"
Rarely, the Uktena replies. Lost people are watched and guided out without breaking the Veil. Not even kinfolk come here, the Uktena considers, not quite happy with the observation. They may, though, come, if they are with an Elder. So few come.
Mouse's frown grows at this. "Why can't kinfolk come?"
Snakepatcher contemplates. Perhaps because there are so many tribes of us here? It is very strange here. Very different from other places, which have only one, or two, tribes.
Mouse shakes her head. "Not that the Green is a good example of a typical Sept either, but our kinfolk were right there too. Granted, we weren't exactly exclusionary. It just seems..." she grunts. "You said with an elder?"
Snakepatcher grunts. I was only at places with one tribe, before coming to here. It was...very different here. You understand right. With an elder. They do not need an elder to go to the place where the Alpha lives, where you met her.
"So if Jack," Mouse says, "...or me, I guess, if that bit of insanity happens, if we're with our Kin, they can go on the Bawn?"
Snakepatcher flickers an ear at Matilda. That is what I understand the Warder to say. He, though, is not happy with your tribe of late, with the Weaver spirit and Power-Up.
"Weaver doesn't generally check with us before she does something," Mouse says, faintly irritable again, though this fades almost immediately. "What Kevin did was absolutely retarded, but, on the other hand, it could've been an utter disaster if those three hadn't been there to see the spirit and your Wyld spirits hadn't been able to drive it off. So I'd say everyone got lucky."
Snakepatcher paces on. We still do not know where the Weaver spirit came from, he states, irritatedly. I looked for the Raven spirit that was with it, but have failed in finding it.
Mouse grunts. "Well, you did say...it could have been from anywhere. That town up that way, the city, maybe it peeled itself off of a passing car. Or it was from the cell phone, but I'd have thought any spirit big enough to take on three Garou and what sounds like a bunch of Wyldlings while already injured would come from something a bit more powerful than that."
The Uktena treads through fallen leaves. Did the Weaver thing call to the Weaver spirit, he asks Mouse. Do not these things constantly call out? There are towers which speak to these things.
Mouse looks thoughtful. "It could have come from a tower. Do you have any phone towers nearby? And yes, they do, but it's like...well have you seen the spiders? You've seen the little spiders, right? They're just about everywhere where humans are."
Snakepatcher does not know. There are tall metal towers with red blinking lights on the top. These?
"Depends," Mouse replies. "Sometimes. The lights are to make sure aircraft don't slam into them or anything. Like lighthouses for ships at see, yeah? But see, a cell phone--" She digs into her pocket, and thankfully, it is not her cell phone that's there, she brings out that box of tooth picks. "Right, this is a cell phone for this example. The cell phone is in constant communication with the tower, so it can make and receive calls. When you make a call or get a call, the signal goes bouncing toward the tower and then goes out over the network to whoever it is you're gonna talk to. They're usually along highways and stuff, when you're not in a city. Get too far away from one though, and the signal's not strong enough, and eventually there's no signal at all. So like, if I were to go hiking up in the mountains, I'd probably get to a point where I was too far away from any tower for my phone to do anything but look pretty."
Snakepatcher listens to the description patiently. When you get to the farmhouse, look up and down the road. More and more people move to new places built along these houses. They all want to talk. More towers get built. No signal today. Signal tomorrow.
Mouse nods. "Yeah. Pretty sure you probably have a signal there, though I didn't check my phone before sticking it in the car. Regardless though, on the other side, you've probably got little threads, or little spiders shooting back and forth all the time from the cell phone to the tower. Little Weaver spirits. My point is, Weaver, she likes her order, and she likes her patterns. That's where she's dangerous to the Wyld, of course. But a big old Weaver spirit just doesn't up and decide to wander off into the woods one day. They just don't do that. So /maybe/ the cell phone drew it from the tower, for some reason. Maybe the Wyld spirits messed up the spirits in the phone--is it still working?--and it came to restore order, and got attacked on the way. Or maybe something happened at the tower. Or maybe something happened somewhere else, and it was driven onto the bawn."
Snakepatcher continues his trek, while listening to the Walker. The thing is working. I gave it to your Elder; you can ask him about it. I would like to know where it came from. And why.
Mouse gives another nod. "I'll ask him about it, when I find him. Granted, I might just be able to give you theories now, like the ones I was just spouting. And, well, first thing I ever learned about spirits is, they never do something until they do. Which means it might very well have just up and decided to wander onto the Bawn. I just think it's unlikely. If I were to make a suggestion, it'd be for the guardians or someone to do a nice sweep along the bawn edges nearest to human habitation, just to make sure things are alright. And of course, your spirits are doing their work too."
Snakepatcher offers only: Spirits do what they will, as he continues onwards, veering off before they reach the farmhouse, letting Matilda go on alone to the farmhouse while he stays in the woods for some Uktenaish purpose.
In the front rooms, Zeke looks over to Alesia, frowning. "No, nothing odd dreamwise. Yo back, Kaz." The metis offers to the Gnawer with a little grin.
There's a tentative knock at the sliding glass door, before a woman wearing dark sunglasses and with short, unruly hair that is being particularly unruly today simply pushes it open and steps inside. She has a trench coat draped over one arm, and both face, and arms, and hands and neck are covered in a tracery of thin scars, some that seem to cluster and form meaningless patterns.
In the front rooms, Kaz's expression tightens just slightly. "Gee, I'd sure hope not." But she adds, much more easily, after a moment, "Yeah, sure. It's what I do, after all." She glances into the kitchen and calls, "Mouse! Hey! How's it goin'?"
In the front rooms, Alesia nods, "Yeah, well, figure if three tribe totems were in the same dream, big stuff going on. I... yeah, probably all that... um, meta-four stuff." She clearly is not that well schooled in such langauge, "Anyway, ah... who is this? Mouse?" She gives a questioning look to Kaz then to the new comer.
Farmhouse: Hallway and Living Room
All doorways in the front part of the house lead to the front hallway, a J-shaped area with the short tail starting at the stairs, the front door hitting the bottom curve, the doorless opening to the living room halfway up the long side, and the also doorless opening to the kitchen and dining room at the very top. The hall has a simple wooden floor, and decorated with a generic print of soft-colored flowers hanging on the wall to the right of the front door, and a tall table sitting under the print which serves as a place to toss keys. A closet under the stairs serves as a place to hang coats or to toss shoes.
The doorless opening to the living room is halfway up the side of the hall's J, and the word cozy might spring to mind when looking into is, as it seems to radiate comforting vibrations. A long couch sits against the south wall beneath a large bay window curtained only by sheers that manages to obscure the view in but only filters the day's light. A variety of out-of-date magazines are strewn atop a low coffee table; more neatly presented are the plethora of books filling the small bookshelves which line the eastern wall. Three chairs sit about the room, focused inward, to allow group conversations. Large floor pillows are stacked in one corner of the room, except one, which lies carelessly in the middle of the floor, apparently left out the last time it was used.
An opening in the northern end of the hallway allows access to the kitchen and dining room at the back of the house, while carpeted stairs twist up at the other end of the hall, leading to the second floor. A door at the base of the J lets out to the front porch.
Contents:
Zeke
Alesia
Cael
Chris
Kaz
NOTE: Current Farmhouse Residents (Updated: Oct 10)
Obvious exits:
Kitchen/Dining Room Front Door STairs
Zeke looks back to the kitchen as well, "What are you dreaming of Alesia?"
Kaz shrugs. "I just meant, it could be, I dunno, the essence of nobility being calcified, not the Fangs themselves. Y'know? That kinda stuff." Anyways. That's Mouse. She's a Walker theurge. /You/ had any weird dreams lately, Mouse?"
Cael looks up from his spot on the couch up to Mouse as she enters, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged on the couch.
A loud yawn precedes Mouse's arrival in the living room, and she's in midstretch when she steps into view of everyone. "Nothing at all's up," she says around the yawn. The distinct hint of New York is unmistakable in her voice. "Slept in the car, just woke up g--" She squints. "Weird dreams? Sure. Last night I dreamed about Gran's cooking. It was really good, which is weird enough, but then it grew legs and started running around the house and I had to chase it with a flyswatter."
Alesia nods, "I don't know how... to figure out dreams. I don't understand any of that symbol stuff." She admits, "Laura did, but she's not here to ask." She looks tired, cranky and now sad. "Just... I'm sorry. Maybe nothing, probably nothing. Just... want to be sure, you know? Maybe it's my past lives trying to send me a message. That... seems to happen sometimes. If it is nothing, then... it is nothing. And I am sorry to waste your time Kaz." She seems weary.
Kaz says, "Yikes. You don' gotta sleep in no car. You're welcome to crash here, or if there's no room, you can use the barn. It's warm, and comfy." She considers Alesia. "Kid. I wasn't takin' offense or nothin'. And I wasn't sayin' you was dumb. Or wrong. I'm'a gonna ask folks, 'cause it's better t'be safe than sorry."
Zeke looks to the newcomer, eyes squinting briefly as he takes in her form. He offers a wave instead of a hand just now, most likely due to the positioning in the room. "Ezekiel Hess, Halfmoon Fury." His attention goes back to Alesia then, "Can you tell me what you dreamt exactly? I can ask others as I see them that way. And has anyone seen Roxanne?"
Mouse smiles slightly--and sleepily. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it. Precaution, didn't want anyone comin' in, finding some really bizarre person and going 'oi!' you know, and freaking them out." She glances toward the Fang and the Fury--or at least, that's what it looks like, as her shades make it hard to tell just where she's looking. "What's this about dreams? And safe to dispense with the codes, boss?" This, to Kaz.
Alesia nods, "Thank you Zeke, I had a dream of a falcon, but it was... messed up, feathers all bad, eyes crusted over, and it circled down then tried to gouge my eyes out. Looked... well, wyrmy or falling apart or something. Then, I had dreams of Pegasus laying there dead, and it's guts being eaten by rats and wild dogs. The rats looked big, made me think of spirits too, so... three totems in one night of dreaming. Left me not sleeping well and worried." Then she glances over at Mouse, "You... new? Everyone here is one of us. I'm one of the Guardians. Alesia, Rises-Above-the-Demons, Theurge Black Fury Cliath."
Kaz tells Mouse, "Yes," and shrugs. "I'm th' caretaker 'round here. I'll spread th' fact you're around, it should be OK, if y'wanna crash in future." She glances upstairs. "Anyways, I'm gonna go take a shower. Catch you folks later?"
Zeke swallows audibly at the news of the dream, eyes glassing and color going pale. A diseased Falcon and a dead Pegasus? That's our tribal totem- that's us!" Way to point out the obvious. "Have you told Nike? Wait, no, no don't tell Nike." He frowns, "This isn't good."
Kaz limps off upstairs.
Kaz goes home.
Kaz has left.
Mouse clears her throat. "Yeah, new. Hang on a sec--" She fishes in her pocket, retrieving a toothpick from a small square box. "--Y'alright, that doesn't sound good. Ah, but you know, I wouldn't start freaking out just yet."
Alesia shakes her head, "No, I haven't told Nike-rhya yet, I just had the dream last night and until I find out if there are others having the same dream... I don't want to jump to anything. I mean, what if it's just me having a really bad dream or three? No... no reason to raise the big red flag until I find out if this was part of visions to other people or until I have more of them." She seems to agrou with Mouse. "Um, can I get... a formal introduction please? Sorry, just.. as a guardian I need to know who is around." She asks rather politely to Mouse.
Alesia pages to the room: Not a'agrou' but 'agree' honest.
Cael finishes off his coffee and takes a glance around, and then gets up off the couch to head back into the kitchen quietly.
"Mmmhmm." Mouse reaches up and pulls off her shades, revealing golden yellow eyes that are distinctly lupine, not human. "Right, so, I'm Mouse. Matilda Knight if I have to get formal and shit with humans, First-Strike or Gets-the-First-Shot, take your pick, Glass Walker, Theurge, Metis--obviously, and there's more to that than these eyes, but you tell me if you wanna see it--and Fostern. Just blew in the night before last from Sept of the Green, New York City, and I met your alpha last night. She said I was alright to hit the bawn, but to give it a few days to make sure the guardians and Warder knew. And hey, you're a guadian."
Zeke lets out a nervous breath, reaching up to pinch at his nose. He starts toe-tapping now, his foot bobbing with sudden anxious energy. "I don't get the ... dogs and rats? Could be Gnawers- but why them?"
Alesia pages to the room: Doing a sense wyrm.
You paged the room with 'Nothin'.'.
Alesia frowns, "Zeke, please... just... all we should do now is ask around to see if anyone else had the dream, okay? It might mean nothing. It could just be...." She trails off and shakes her head, "I could just be more insane than normal, okay?" Then a glance back to Mouse, "Hold up a sec..." Her nose wrinkles, "Ah... clean, okay. Sorry, had problems with garou not being checked for taint before being allowed on the bawn a while ago. Just better safe than sorry. You'll want to find Jamethon-Rhya, the Warder, to do introductions to be safe. I can pass stuff along but always best to talk to him in person."
Zeke pages to the room: Nothing.
Mouse sticks the toothpick into her mouth and nods. "Sure. Sorry, should have mentioned Kaz got me the first night here. And the only reason I'm a bit jumpy to get over there is because I heard some story about one of mine doing something retarded and being stuck out there. --Mm, as for dreams, yeah. Thing about dreams is, and it makes them nice and easy once you realize, you can't ever be SURE of them. Even if they mean something, a lot of times they mean more than one thing, and sometimes those things contradict."
Zeke looks from one to the other, "What if the dream is a warning to pegasus? That pegasus is doing something wrong, and he's going to find himself at the maw of the others? It could mean that, right?"
Mouse turns her head to look at Zeke. She doesn't say anything, but there's the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.
Alesia shrugs, "I don't know what it means Zeke. It could mean that Falcon and the Silver Fangs will betray us and that after the betrayal the Bone Gnawers will pick us clean, but... I don't think that is likely. I suspect it is a lot more um... unclear than that. Laura said dreams never mean what you think they mean. But the best you can do is try. So... I'm gonna try to figure it out but jumping to something might do more harm than good, you know? And it could mean I'm just losing it." She sighs, "I don't know, maybe I shouldn't have said anything, but I'd rather seem insane than not warn about something. Um, Mouse-Rhya, if you mean Kevin, he is on the bawn now."
Mouse looks back to Alesia. "Yeah, I know, that's why I'm interested in being able to get out there and talk to him. Also, no rhyas, not unless you piss me off. You wanna see the rest of the whole cursed by Gaia deformities list, or are y'good?" Her tone remains light, and she chews idly on the toothpick.
Zeke glances to Mouse and cants his head at her, there's a new debate in his posture, and out of nowhere, he shakes his head. "We're not her curse. We're just a reminder of why her laws are to be obeyed."
Alesia shakes her head, "No, I don't need to see the list, unless there is something that is a threat to the bawn?" She sounds like she thinks that very unlikely, "Anyway, um, sorry about the rhya bit but it is very hard for me not to. I... have a lot of voices in my head, um, ancestors. They... whisper at me, complain if I don't do things right sometimes. They like those of higher rank to always be called Rhya. And, I have no problem with metis. You point me at someone who made a metis, and I might be a tad harsher, but it's not your fault. You didn't pick to be born to that just like..." She trails off then shakes her head, "Anyway, just... um, I may call you Rhya anyway, so I appologize in advance."
Mouse grins now. "What, you mean like a pattern spider attached to my tail? Not last I checked, so I guess I'm good. That does remind me though, I had a question related. I /do/ have a back brace. Plastic and wire, mostly. Wear it 'cause I get constant backaches, and it helps a bit, but I can take it off if your spirits will get antsy." She glances toward Zeke again, and gives him a broad wink.
Zeke looks on to the metis and his tribemate in turn. "If the spirits get offended at such things, they deserve to wallow around angrily."
Alesia considers, "No moving parts?" She asks of Mouse, "If it lacks electronics and moving parts... um, then you can wear it on the bawn, but I suspect you should not wear it to the Caern itself. But... please ask the Warder about it, his ruling is final. But you can wear it on the bawn itself I think. Or... that is I as Gaurdian say you can. Just don't go to the Caern until the Warder makes sure it is okay please."
"No electronics," Mouse replies. "It's a bit rigid, but it does move a little bit so I look a little less like a stick man. No worries, I'll ask him first. Mmm. So is it alright to hop onto the bawn itself, if I steer clear of the Caern?"
Zeke is still filled up with that nervous fidget, and finally it gets to be a little too much for him. "Excuse me, I need to find someone." It's only on his way half to the door, that his manners kick in, "Nice to meet you Mouse."
Alesia nods, "I would think so. Moving parts meaning like... a bike or something, not like... well, it should be fine. There is a sept compound on the south end of the bawn, the guardians live there, or some of us do, and you can find the Warder there more often than not. It is a bit of a hike, not so bad in wolf but not a quick run. I don't know where Kevin is staying." She glances to Zeke, "Hey, you. Take care, okay?" She asks of her tribesmate, looking honestly concerned.
Mouse grins again, briefly and tightly. "Great, thanks. Like I said, I'll ask him first." She glances toward Zeke, looking thoughtful. "Hey, kid. Nice to meet you too. We should talk sometime, or something."
Zeke gives an idle nod as he runs out the door, forgetting to shut it altogether.
----
Lane(#300RJ)
Stretching a good quarter mile from the road, this gravel lane leads back to the Escrowe farm. Trees line the lane, leaves of brown and orange, red and gold coloring the branches and carpeting the ground around them. In the distance, the farmhouse looms above the treetops, gleaming white as the snow from its yearly coat of paint. Silence prevails here, save for the rustling of the tall grasses in the fields when the wind blows.
The front entrance to the farmhouse is on the porch alongside the gravelled road which continues on around the eastern side of the house back to the barnyard. The opposite end of the lane turns back west to empty out onto Sunrise Road.
Contents:
Zeke
Obvious exits:
PORch BarnYard Sunrise Road
Zeke has stopped on the lane, hands pressed to each side of his head as if in frantic uncertainty as he gazes down the road. "Roxanne!!!" he calls out, "Where are you?" His gait sends him pacing a few more yards toward Sunrise Road.
Mouse exits the house more slowly, keys jangling in one hand, but she seems to be heading in roughly the same direction. Or, rather, at least as far as that plain green Toyota that's sitting parked off to the side. She has her glasses back on, so it's not clear just when her gaze shifts to Zeke--but she does change direction, stuffing the keys back into her pocket as she goes. "What's with the guilty conscience?"
Zeke startles a little, "Huh?" He shakes his head, "I don't have a guilty conscience," he lies miserably. "I just really need to find someone, and I can't find her."
"Yeah?" Mouse's tone is still light, but clearly tinged with amusement. "When you were talking about the dream, you said 'what if it's a warning to Pegasus? What if /he's/ going to find /himself/ at the maw of the others, 'cause he's doing something wrong. Now you're out here calling for someone."
"I'm not doing anything wrong!" He snaps back at this point, eyes narrowing. "At least not according to Gaia's laws. The rest of the nation might think so, but you know, I am tired of them anyway!" Zeke scowls.
Mouse reaches into her other pocket and pulls out a somewhat rumbled cigarette package, as well as a simple bic lighter. "Didn't say you were doing anything wrong," she replies. Her tone is more serious now, the amusement faded. "I said you had a guilty conscience. Those aren't the same things. Smoke?"
Zeke looks at the cigarette and sigh, "No. It's not like I get any benefit from them." He huffs, "If I've not done anything wrong, then why am I so ... uptight? This isn't right. I'm not acting as I should. But then- this? This thing was never, /ever/ supposed to come up. I wasn't prepared for it."
"Actually," Mouse murmurs, as she plucks out two cigarettes anyway. "You can. Do it right, it can be real calming." She pulls out the toothpick and replaces it with one of the cigarettes. "G'on. Try it with me." The other cigarette is offered. "'Cause you're guilty. 'Cause you either think you're doing something wrong anyway, or you're worried it might be wrong."
Zeke frowns at the other metis, and reaches out to take the cigarette. "Do it right? You pull in on inhale, you puff it out. What's to do right?" The rest of her suggestions are for the moment ignored for a moment. "What I think is wrong, and what the world thinks is wrong, might be different, so then what do I do?"
"You do what you can," Mouse replies. She flicks the lighter and holds it to her cigarette, a little longer than one might expect. "Take a deep breath. Hold it. Let it out. Just think about breathing, and put that thing between your teeth. I'll light it."
Zeke fumbles with it for a minute, taking the cigarette and putting it between his lips. He bites it gently with his teeth then, clearly unexperienced in this. "Yow're foshern?" he asks around the rolled tobacco.
Mouse nods. She flicks the lighter again, though she doesn't immediately hold the flame to Zeke's cigarette. "Yeah, Fostern. Crazy, eh? Okay, you'll probably hack and cough the first go. Don't worry about it." She lights the end. "Just try and breathe with me. In..." she inhales on her own cigarette. "...And out." Smoke blooms from her lips.
Zeke takes in a deep breath, though half of it goes through his nose. The smoke hits his throat and he coughs just as she predicted. The cigarette is pulled from his lips for brief moment and then replaced as he watches her rhythmn. In, and out. Cough. In, annnnd out. "Not crazy. Encouraging."
Mouse smiles again. She continues her steady breathing, dragging in on the cigarette, pushing the smoke out through her teeth. "Right, now we add another step to it. It's like dancing, only with a cancer stick." This time, after she inhales, she pulls the cigarette from her mouth with a smooth, almost ritualistic motion and purses her lips, blowing the smoke upward.
You paged the room with 'Enacting Tobaccos calm, obviously. ^^'.
Zeke lifts just one eyebrow at her, curious and a little skeptical. Still, he follows along with it, mimicking it so well it's almost as if he were a mirrored shadow. In, withdraw, purse the lips... out. His shoulders start to relax a little as he concentrates on her, and after a moment he blinks. "It's never worked before..."
Mouse continues without replying for two more cycles, before she relaxes into a more standard, less rhythmic puffing. "Yeah. That's because this bit we were doing, just now, s'not nicotine. It's spiritual. Crazy, yeah?"
Zeke looks across at her, "Spiritual how? Half the people I know think this stuff is practically of the wyrm itself." Still, there is no denying that the metis is visibly relaxing now.
"Half the people you know probably think the Weaver is practically the Wyrm too," Mouse replies easily. "But everything's spiritual. Rocks, dirt, trees, buildings, laptops, and..." She puffs again. "Tobacco. Tobacco's just a plant, after all. And yeah, now there's a bunch of other shit in there, but it's there too. Just a matter of finding it. You wanna know who taught me this?"
Zeke nods his head, "Can you teach me?" he asks then before the story is told. "I... I could use something like this."
Mouse nods. "Sure. Once I get settled anyway, but meantime, I can help you out. And it was a Bone Gnawer. Dirty old guy without two coins to rub together, and he dug used butts out of a trash can...and it /worked/ for him. Gaia's nice and flexible."
Zeke nods his head a little, "Yeah. Yeah I wonder how flexible she is." He pulls in another drag. "See. Here," he looks about to confess then, his shoulders down and his gaze flicking between the cigarette and the feet of the other metis. "I met this Fang kin, but she was lost. Like, long abandoned from her heritage. She was a mess- tainted, and hopped up on drugs, booze. I cleansed her, and she's recovering right? But..." he swallows then, "She likes me. I mean, like likes me. Doesn't find me gross. In fact she, well, she and I. I mean." Huff, "We sleep together. So, so I was thinking that dream's got to do with her, and me... and the others? They're eating Pegasus because that's them killing him for his crimes. See?"
Mouse grunts. "Crimes, eh? They know about this Kin, the Fangs?"
Zeke nods his head, "I even confessed to the elder what I'd done. He laughed, and said I had cooties. But, but he never said anything else. So, so I meant to not do it again. But I have. A few times. And, I want to."
Mouse jerks a thumb at herself. "Theurge. So mind that. Also, mind I'm a fucking urrah too. But hell. So you've told them she exists, told them you're sleeping with her, and what? They're usually picky, I thought, but they /said/ anything about it?"
Zeke shakes his head, "I only told them of the once. Because I felt so guilty. He got mad- I think, anyway, for a moment, then burst into laughter. He had found out she was tainted, and so I think he found it amusing that I just... did that, with someone who was, well like I said. He said I had cooties from it. But they've not taken her to some nice place to live, they haven't been around to help her. I have. It's been me looking after her."
Another grunt. "Well, if you're that worried over it, tell them again. That's territory, I'd say, but other than that?" Mouse shrugs. "The hell crimes are you committing, if they haven't even bothered to tell you not to? And for /that/ matter, their territory also happens to be a thinking breathing intelligent person who can make her own damned decisions."
Zeke nods his head, "I agree. And so does Roxanne. And it's not a if I am breaking the litany, I'm not. There's no law says we can't do that sort of thing." He becomes more resolute then. "So, so tell them again? Just say that I am having relations with her?"
"Remind them," Mouse says. "And be respectful and apologetic and shit. And mind, it may go badly. But they can't draw you up on territory issues, I'd think, as you've /told/ them, and told them /again/. And for that matter, what? She's kin, you're metis, it's not charach and you can't even give her kids and mess up that pedigree or whatever. If it goes badly, it goes badly."
Zeke nods his head, bobbing it anxiously. "I keep saying that to myself. But how come then I feel like I've been so wretched?"
Mouse sprinkles ash on the ground. "Prrrrobably because you're a male Black Fury metis. Mind, that's just a biased guess."
Zeke nods his head, "Yes, probably. I should know better, and yet now that I've done this, it's like I am deciding there is nothign to know better about." The cigarette goes back into his mouth. "I need to find Cedric then. And you, you will show me how to make the cigarettes work all the time?"
Mouse nods. "Yeah. Like I said, when I get settled and such. I still need to find this Jack Salem guy."
Zeke nods his head. "Thanks. I mean, really. Thanks." The sentiment is genuine, and as the Fury takes in another big drag, he finally drops the cigarette to the ground and steps it out with his shoe. The butt is picked up then and put into his pocket, apparently to be more properly discarded later, and then he is off.
----
Small Creek
A small creek, no more than a mere trickle, winds through the forest. Small pebbles shine wetly as the water flows past them. The creek has worn a slight indentation into the forest floor and tree roots can be seen poking out of the soil near the creek. Moss grows on the banks of the creek, and the occasional mushroom can be seen sticking out from the soil near the roots of a tree. Scurrying sounds can be heard through the underbrush, probably from field mice or other small woodland critters.
The forest looms over the creek on all sides, looking mysterious and foreboding.
Contents:
Power-Up
Obvious exits:
Forest
Reggie has arrived.
Down by the little creek, a single young male wolf is lying, front paws forwards and head resting on them, staring into the water. Perhaps he's looking at his own reflection, or perhaps he's merely dozing with his eyes open.
An unfamiliar howl sounds in the distance, short and direct. ~I am looking for Power-Up.~
The recumbent wolf slowly stands up, stretches impressively and yawns even more so, before delivering an unhurried howl in return. He is here and I am he.
The stranger also appears to be in no true hurry, as she is a long time in appearing, and when she does, her pace--strange, bizarre lope that it is--carries no sense of urgency. It's a wolf...or at least, it /looks/ something like a wolf, from the head to the shoulders, but its spine is far too long to be natural, and the long tail trailing behind it is more appropriate to a ferret or a weasel than a wolf, or even a cat.
Power-Up's hackles immediately raise into bristling mode. Was it you who howled? he demands stiffly.
The stranger indicates that yes, it was. Her ears push forward, and she seems to be studying Power-Up intently, but his bristling does not seem to create any concern in her posture. She's a lanky creature, even beyond her strange spine, with no extra muscle mass to speak of. I am First-Strike, she offers, a crescent moon of Cockroach, and second rank. --And mule, she adds, with an amused chuff.
Power-Up seems mollified, especially when the mention is made of the newcomer's rank. His hackles gradually return to normal, and his tail droops. What do you do here, so far from the city, child of roach? he enquires.
The rustling of dead autumn leaves gives away Snakepatcher's less than steathy approach long before the ragged grey wolf arrives within sight or scent. The Uktena peers intensely at the misproportioned wolf, gawking at the tail, before he addresses either wolf present. I wondered whose howl that was. The new Walker?
First-Strike's right ear turns, tracking Snakepatcher's movements as he approaches. Yes, she confirms to the Uktena, before she looks back toward Power-Up. This one was coming to find you. Are you allowed to take two legs?
Power-Up turns to Snakepatcher. Am I allowed to take two legs? he echoes.
Snakepatcher paces up to First-Strike, sniffing at the wolf as though not expecting her to scent entirely as wolf. He pauses to stare at Power-Up. Has anyone forbidden you from it?
First-Strike smells like a wolf, though she smells like a wolf that has spent years and years in the big city, as well as one with a smoking habit. She glances to Snakepatcher, then twists her other ear in Power-Up's direction.
Perhaps some of the Guardians think that walking on two legs is of the Weaver, Power-Up responds. The bitterness in his body language is impossible to hide, or to ignore.
First-Strike snorts at this suggestion. Take two-legs, unless they have told you specifically not to.
Snakepatcher regards the Ragabash. I have seen them all walking on two legs, he replies.
Power-Up does finally take two legs. Briefly he goes up through the hulking war-form, then down to glabro and eventually into homid, revealing himself to be a thin, long-legged teen in a muddy tracksuit. He also smells rather bad -- what was a normal wolf scent in lupus has become a definitely unwashed one in homid.
Power-Up contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Power-Up shifts into Homid form.
First-Strike's nose twitches once, and then she too shifts upward, where the tail is either gone or hidden beneath her clothes, and that bizarrely lengthened spine is extremely muted. The scars though, those remain, more visible now without fur to obscure them. She looks like she just stepped out of the Matrix, with dark glasses obscuring her eyes, and wearing a black trench coat--which she promptly sheds carelessly onto the ground. "Got into a bit of trouble, so I hear?" The voice is unmistakably New Yorker.
You have shifted to Homid form.
Snakepatcher remains in wolf form, his muzzle dipping back to First-Strike for another sniff as the metis changes, and otherwise remains put.
Kevin looks at the metis with interest. "You could say that," he said. "But don't tell me you came all the way from the East Coast to say that to me, or I'll call you a liar, fostern or no fostern."
Mouse smells the same as she did before, with the addition of clothes this time. "'Course not," she says to the other Walker. "I haven't even met your elder yet, but a whole lot of people've filled me in on you. Mostly, those that are a little worried. But anyway." She holds out one scarred hand. "Name's Mouse. Matilda Knight only when I have to with humans, First Strike as I said, or Gets-the-First-Shot, or whatever. From Sept of the Green."
Snakepatcher tilts his head, an ear perking, at Matilda's words, and he watches the other Walker's reaction.
Kevin hesitates a second, then shoves his own (dirty) hand out and grips Matilda's. "Nice to meet you," he mutters. "I got people worried, huh? Like who?"
Mouse shakes the hand firmly, seemingly unbothered by the dirt. "Like your packmate Kaz, for instance. So..." She pulls her glasses off, revealing golden yellow eyes that are clearly lupine, rather than human. "You wanna tell me what craziness got into your head for all this?" Her tone is fairly light.
Snakepatcher peers upward at Matilda at the question, then resumes watching Kevin.
Kevin frowns angrily. "Oh, I just stopped the caern being eaten by a Weaver spirit," he says, "and showed up the guardians for letting it onto the bawn. We can't have that, now can we?"
Mouse's light tone is implacable. "After leading it toward the Caern in the first place."
Snakepatcher looks away from Kevin, and he scratches behind his ear. Apparently the words are wearing old on him.
"I did not," Kevin snaps. "It was already headed for the caern. Anyone who says otherwise is lying."
Mouse's strange eyes settle on Kevin. Her expression is impassive, and she doesn't say anything for several long, rather uncomfortable moments.
Snakepatcher resumes his study of Kevin for a few moments, then resumes scratching his ear.
"Anyway," Kevin says, finally breaking the silence, "I killed it. Along with the cubs. But not quickly enough, seems. Now, what can I do for you?"
"You can tell me the truth," Mouse replies evenly. "The whole thing would be really grand. Generally getting a year long punishment isn't the response to saving the Caern near-single-handedly."
Snakepatcher's scratching ceases at Matilda's words, and he's still.
"All I did wrong," Kevin insists shrilly, "was wait until the last moment before killing it. I should have realised it was a threat before. But I'm not a theurge like you, I don't know much about spirits, and I didn't want to start a firefight with one on the bawn, okay? Besides, our tribe respects the Weaver. Sometimes."
"Which is what you did wrong," Mouse says, though there's a faint easing of her posture, and she brushes one hand back through her hair. "Yeah, our tribe respects the Weaver. But we're not allies. She doesn't make allies, any more than the Wyld does--which, I'll point out right now, plenty of the other tribes end up making that mistake /themselves/. So you aren't alone in that. And no, you aren't a theurge. And I'm kinda sorry it seems like you really haven't had any Theurges to make that clear to you until now."
Snakepatcher breaks from his stillness to circle around Kevin, and he regards Matilda. There is much that has not been made clear. The cubs had Weaver items. Weaver items that can call further out than a howl--these ~cell phones~ are not permitted on the bawn.
"We did have one," Kevin says in a more subdued voice. "But she died. A roach ate her. She was pretty cool." Then he turns to Snakepatcher and points out "I didn't know they had the things. Fair enough, I should have frisked the little sods..."
Mouse shifts her gaze to Snakepatcher, and in that same even voice, "Do we know if the Weaver spirit followed the cell phones?. If there was only one Weaver spirit, I doubt it came from the cell phones themselves, if there was more than one." She glances back toward Kevin. "Kid, I need to try and find your elder still. You stick out here, do what you've got to do, keep your nose to the ground. I'll come back to see you soon. --And," she adds, eyes narrowing, "I'll see about this damned cell phone business."
The damage is done, the Uktena replies. The Weaver items have been taken from the cubs, given to their Elder, and the cubs--enlightened.
"Yes, ma'am," Kevin says meekly -- whether real or feigned meekness who knows? "Listen, though, don't be nasty to the cubs about it, they knew no better. I'm carrying the can for the whole thing, and if anyone has to, best it's me... Will I see you out here again?" There's an air of suppressed desperation behind that last question.
"Yeah, well," Mouse replies, her voice tinged with the faintest amount of impatience, "If the spirit didn't /come/ from the cell phones, it came from somewhere else. Which means you've still got a potential problem, because, crazy as it sounds, Weaver doesn't need cell phones or high electronics to wander into your Bawn. See this rock here? That tree? Those are Weaver too, they're just natural and not human-made." She glances toward Kevin. "Yeah. Soon. Few days or so, maybe sooner."
The cubs have cooperated, Snakepatcher replies, with a glance at Kevin. And they show that they can learn. He regards the rock and tree as indicated, with an easy air. Weaver, Wyld, both. A wyld spirit seeking to drain the caern would also be fought. Has also been fought.
Mouse's mouth thins as she starts back toward the farmhouse. "Yeah, sorry. I think I'm a bit twitchy today. Not used to this kind've Caern and all. /Plus/, definitely not used to my tribe being...uh. Like this."
The Uktena paces back with Matilda towards the farmhouse. Many of us fought a Wyld spirit that came directly into our caern and started changing things--acorns into oaks, rocks into sand, and many of us were changed in the process. The Weaver may have come from the ape-buildings nearby--they grow, and build their places into the woods, and grow even more. The Uktena twitches an ear at Matilda's phrasing. Like what?
Mouse hehs. "Well, where to start. There are like, three cliaths--Kevin, this Jack Salem, and Kavi. One's stuck on the bawn for a damned /year/, which means he's theoretically useful to you, but he isn't going to be able to help us at all, the other seems to be an ex-everything and, at least from what people keep telling me, a little desperate to give away eldership, and Kavi seems to have his head on. Everyone /else/ apparently hasn't been seen for ages. Three cubs, at least one of which with something of an attitude problem. And I am the /highest/ ranking Garou and I'm a /Fostern/."
The Uktena flickers his ear at Matilda's count. There are more. Hunter, the one who placed silver in a cub's hands. Heart-Throb, who lives not here, but speaks of staying here. You are highest at Fostern? Good. The ex-everything was a Sept Alpha and Cliath.
Mouse stops right in her tracks. She stares at Snakepatcher. "...What?"
Snakepatcher continues pacing on before he also stops, and looks back at the Walker. It was many seasons ago. He did not stay long at either. I watched his challenge for the second rank--judging the previous Alpha who had left.
Mouse rakes at her hair again. "You're telling me, that this Jack Salem guy, the ex-everything, current Walker elder, charach...he managed Sept Alpha while he was still /cliath/? I mean, even if he was Alpha as cliath for two fucking seconds before fostern...you're telling me this guy has done all that, and people are thinking just 'cause I'm a damned fostern he's gonna give me the eldership? And that I could even /remotely/ do a better job?"
Snakepatcher looks to where they were going, then with a sigh, circles about to rejoin Matilda. I do not know what he will do. You have listened to much that has happened recently. Do you think you can do better?
Mouse grimaces. "I don't know what he's done recently. The bit with the silver, he was apparently not elder, and not here. No one's mentioned him in connection with what happened with Kevin." She looks at Snakepatcher, frowning. "I don't know what your tribe does with metis. You know what mine does?"
Snakepatcher regards Matilda. Keeps them?, he ventures.
Mouse snorts. "Well, yeah, obviously. They're good about it. My tribe, I mean. I've had a real decent time of things for what I am. We're flexible. We're about adapting and surviving and /changing/ as needed, so if you're a metis, and you're competent, and you're /useful/, then you've got a place, and it's not too bad."
Snakepatcher studies Matilda at her words. There is a young Metis being raised on the bawn. She cannot shift, yet. The Veil is to be protected from her, so she is kept deep within the woods. Oh, and she is Bone Gnawer, the Uktena adds with an air of 'what do you expect'.
Mouse waves her hand. "I know Bone Gnawers. They run the Sept of the Green. It's everyone else I'm not really familiar with. But anyway. My point is, I've got no real complaints. I've seen other metis from other tribes, I've heard a few things. But see, there's a difference between that view of 'metis have a useful place' and metis /leading/. It's making me a little nervous. Didn't expect it would ever apply to me beyond maybe a pack alphaship."
Snakepatcher paces unsettledly. My packmate is Metis and leader of the Bone Gnawers. Your tribe must choose between a Charach and a Metis to lead. You must have known there are few high-ranked of your tribe here.
Mouse continues forward after a moment, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Ask her sometime," she says finally, "how long it took her to get herself up to that. And...I knew the Walkers down here were low on numbers and having problems, yeah. But y'gotta understand, the Green? The alpha is a Bone Gnawer /Elder/. My elder there was Adren. The possibility of me being an elder for the tribe in New York was so far removed from anything /resembling/ reality it just never crossed my mind. I didn't realize that we were uh...quite this scattered on the West Coast."
Snakepatcher resumes the trek. After a while, he informs Matilta that Athro of her tribe have been here. One was a Sept Alpha, very long ago. Another was not. Both of these left, long ago. This is a wild place, perhaps they prefer cities elsewhere.
Mouse continues to walk in silence, apparently content with it until Snakepatcher begins speaking again. "Maybe. I don't know. Central Park is wild too, you know, and a million humans walk through it every day." She glances to the side. "...Do humans even come out here?"
Rarely, the Uktena replies. Lost people are watched and guided out without breaking the Veil. Not even kinfolk come here, the Uktena considers, not quite happy with the observation. They may, though, come, if they are with an Elder. So few come.
Mouse's frown grows at this. "Why can't kinfolk come?"
Snakepatcher contemplates. Perhaps because there are so many tribes of us here? It is very strange here. Very different from other places, which have only one, or two, tribes.
Mouse shakes her head. "Not that the Green is a good example of a typical Sept either, but our kinfolk were right there too. Granted, we weren't exactly exclusionary. It just seems..." she grunts. "You said with an elder?"
Snakepatcher grunts. I was only at places with one tribe, before coming to here. It was...very different here. You understand right. With an elder. They do not need an elder to go to the place where the Alpha lives, where you met her.
"So if Jack," Mouse says, "...or me, I guess, if that bit of insanity happens, if we're with our Kin, they can go on the Bawn?"
Snakepatcher flickers an ear at Matilda. That is what I understand the Warder to say. He, though, is not happy with your tribe of late, with the Weaver spirit and Power-Up.
"Weaver doesn't generally check with us before she does something," Mouse says, faintly irritable again, though this fades almost immediately. "What Kevin did was absolutely retarded, but, on the other hand, it could've been an utter disaster if those three hadn't been there to see the spirit and your Wyld spirits hadn't been able to drive it off. So I'd say everyone got lucky."
Snakepatcher paces on. We still do not know where the Weaver spirit came from, he states, irritatedly. I looked for the Raven spirit that was with it, but have failed in finding it.
Mouse grunts. "Well, you did say...it could have been from anywhere. That town up that way, the city, maybe it peeled itself off of a passing car. Or it was from the cell phone, but I'd have thought any spirit big enough to take on three Garou and what sounds like a bunch of Wyldlings while already injured would come from something a bit more powerful than that."
The Uktena treads through fallen leaves. Did the Weaver thing call to the Weaver spirit, he asks Mouse. Do not these things constantly call out? There are towers which speak to these things.
Mouse looks thoughtful. "It could have come from a tower. Do you have any phone towers nearby? And yes, they do, but it's like...well have you seen the spiders? You've seen the little spiders, right? They're just about everywhere where humans are."
Snakepatcher does not know. There are tall metal towers with red blinking lights on the top. These?
"Depends," Mouse replies. "Sometimes. The lights are to make sure aircraft don't slam into them or anything. Like lighthouses for ships at see, yeah? But see, a cell phone--" She digs into her pocket, and thankfully, it is not her cell phone that's there, she brings out that box of tooth picks. "Right, this is a cell phone for this example. The cell phone is in constant communication with the tower, so it can make and receive calls. When you make a call or get a call, the signal goes bouncing toward the tower and then goes out over the network to whoever it is you're gonna talk to. They're usually along highways and stuff, when you're not in a city. Get too far away from one though, and the signal's not strong enough, and eventually there's no signal at all. So like, if I were to go hiking up in the mountains, I'd probably get to a point where I was too far away from any tower for my phone to do anything but look pretty."
Snakepatcher listens to the description patiently. When you get to the farmhouse, look up and down the road. More and more people move to new places built along these houses. They all want to talk. More towers get built. No signal today. Signal tomorrow.
Mouse nods. "Yeah. Pretty sure you probably have a signal there, though I didn't check my phone before sticking it in the car. Regardless though, on the other side, you've probably got little threads, or little spiders shooting back and forth all the time from the cell phone to the tower. Little Weaver spirits. My point is, Weaver, she likes her order, and she likes her patterns. That's where she's dangerous to the Wyld, of course. But a big old Weaver spirit just doesn't up and decide to wander off into the woods one day. They just don't do that. So /maybe/ the cell phone drew it from the tower, for some reason. Maybe the Wyld spirits messed up the spirits in the phone--is it still working?--and it came to restore order, and got attacked on the way. Or maybe something happened at the tower. Or maybe something happened somewhere else, and it was driven onto the bawn."
Snakepatcher continues his trek, while listening to the Walker. The thing is working. I gave it to your Elder; you can ask him about it. I would like to know where it came from. And why.
Mouse gives another nod. "I'll ask him about it, when I find him. Granted, I might just be able to give you theories now, like the ones I was just spouting. And, well, first thing I ever learned about spirits is, they never do something until they do. Which means it might very well have just up and decided to wander onto the Bawn. I just think it's unlikely. If I were to make a suggestion, it'd be for the guardians or someone to do a nice sweep along the bawn edges nearest to human habitation, just to make sure things are alright. And of course, your spirits are doing their work too."
Snakepatcher offers only: Spirits do what they will, as he continues onwards, veering off before they reach the farmhouse, letting Matilda go on alone to the farmhouse while he stays in the woods for some Uktenaish purpose.
