Do Wolves Play?

[hazlogs]

Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the southwest at 12 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.17 and rising, and the relative humidity is 67 percent. The dewpoint is 48 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius.) For more detail, see: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=98501

It is currently 18:40 Pacific Time on Wed May 25 2016.

Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous (Galliard) Moon phase (71% full).

Caern: The Stone Firepit

A subtle undulation of the land forms an curious, natural spiral in the open ground. One side of the formation rises to create a half-circle or crescent of earth surrounding and encompassing the spiral. The ground is littered with rock and flagstones, both large and small. Someone has carefully gathered up a trove of these and erected a clear fire pit. Flagstones with smooth surfaces have been laid along the upper lip of half circle of earth around the fire pit, turning it into a nice seating area. All debris and flammable material's been removed from within the spiral, and a fire has been laid. Just beyond the spiral's edge, wood has been collected and piled for future use. Surrounding this, the rugged walls of the canyon have been half buried by the Wyld surge, making the upper slope of the valley more gentle than it was before. Stands of Douglas fir and white pines mix with hemlock, lodgepole pines, and western larch trees to fill much of the open space, but the trees here are not nearly as dense as they are in the surrounding forests of the bawn. The sparse woods allows a partial view of the sky, and both sun and moonlight filter down to create enigmatic and beautiful shadow patterns on the forest floor. That floor is blanketed with a thick, soft rug of shed pine needles, lichen and leaf debris. The moss-covered relics of old, dead trees occasionally mark a place where once great sentinels loomed above.

The caern expands in two directions from here. The escarpment wall and raised dais form one point of the new triangle, while the center of the caern and its gigantic, Wyld-influenced tree marks the other. The only obvious way out of the caern is the valley slope that leads to the central bawn.

The question brings another laugh, and Nolan rolls the pebbles around in the palm of his hand. "There's the heart of it, right? And what it comes down to, what I need to decide, is how much effort do I put in, before I cut my losses and go somewhere else? I've been watching. I've pushed a few buttons, prodded at a few openings, but without much success. So do I push harder? Do I hope that there's something there? Or move on."

A young man of average height and athletic build, he is generally seen with a cunning smile and an easy manner. His dark hair is cut short, just enough length that the waves take form. (If he let it grow out, it would probably lead to unruly curls.) His eyes are green, or perhaps hazel, depending on the light. His skin is pale and freckled, and his cheekbones, while not extreme, are prominent. The straight nose and strong chin can lead to a more stern impression, but it's broken easily when he grins.

Today he wears a simple grey hoodie with a Red Sox logo on the front. His denim jeans are, if not new, well cared for, as are the blue and grey tennis shoes beneath. Around his neck, visible against the grey of the sweatshirt, he wears a pendant of carved, black stone strung on a thin cord of braided leather.

Brings-the-Pack is seated at the firepit, opposite of Nolan, having a quiet and reasonable-sounding discussion. "Sometimes you must demonstrate that you possess valuable counsel and wisdom before the garou are accepting of future offers. It takes great humility, at times, for more accomplished garou to take advice from a cliath. It is, perhaps, easier for me because I do not fit neatly into your culture's heirarchical system."

Rabbit steps clear of the treeline and pauses there, looking about carefully, cautiously.

"Too true," Nolan answers with a grin. He separates one of the pebbles from the rest and tosses it toward the fire. "Part of our nature, I think. And my choices--" He breaks off at the appearance of the girl at the treeline, pausing to smile in her direction. More quietly, he finishes his thought. "My choices put me here, regardless of my intent."

"You must give a little to get a little," Brings-the-Pack advises Nolan before looking askance towards the newly arrived kit. "Hello, rabbit. Things seem somewhat calmer today than they were earlier," he reassures.

Rabbit smiles back at Nolan and, at Brings' words, moves closer to join the pair at the fire, though one may note that she positions herself closer to the mage than the Garou. She does, though, introduce herself to the wolf. "Hello. I am Rabbit Digs Deep. I am Fox kit, Turtle-child."

The grin is still there, though there's a flash of something darker and a bit of a sigh directed toward the mage-cat before the girl joins them. "Rabbit Digs Deep," Nolan repeats, nodding to himself. "I'm Squirrel Talks to No One, ragabash of the Fianna. Wolf cliath. Most call me Nolan."

"And everyone knows me," the cat-mage says with a hint of humor in his electronic voice. His tail wraps contentedly about his side.

"Yes, all knows the lightning-cat," Rabbit says, hunkering down into a squat near the fire. She regards Nolan with interest. "Why 'Talks to No One'?"

Nolan tosses the remaining pebbles, scattershot, to the side of the flames, away from the others. "It's--" he starts, and then glances to the Cougar. As he returns his focus to Rabbit, there's a brief smirk and he shakes his head. "It's double-edged," he says. "Partly reminder of how things came to be, and partly the opposite of the truth."

Brings-the-Pack remains silent as the other two continue their conversation.

Rabbit considers Nolan's answer. "Name marks a story. Name also is a... joke, because Squirrel Talks to Everyone. Ah!" She grins. "Squirrel tells the story?"

The grin falters and Nolan gives a soft shake of his head. "The story's a sad one," he tells her, recovering the more chipper expression. "Best saved for a gloomier time. Why Digs Deep?"

Rabbit paws a little at the stony ground in a mild digging type motion. "Like digging. Digging is joy. But also digging at new things, learning. Rabbit because rabbits are fast, clever."

Nolan chuckles a little at that. "I see," he says with a nod. "Makes sense. And how is it that a Fox kit comes to spend time with the wolves?"

Brings-the-Pack looks between the wolf and the fox, seemingly absorbing their conversation without directly intervening in it. For now.

Rabbit's fingers continue to lightly fiddle over the surface of the ground, not quite doing the digging motion still, but close. "It is good to learn about wolves. Many wolves here."

"It is definitely good to learn," Nolan agrees with the grin still in place. He rises, dusting his hands off on his jeans, and takes a few steps around the fire. "Have you learned anything really interesting, yet?"

Brings-the-Pack seems to take interest into what insights Rabbit might have recently gained, so he focuses his attention on her, curiosity evident.

Rabbit sits back on her heels and looks thoughtful. "At the house, wolves keep toys. But they do not play."

One eyebrow lifts, Nolan's head tipping to the side. "They have toys, but they don't play? Tell me more about this."

"In the edge-house," says Rabbit. "Now not a place to go, but before, I go there with Turtle. I saw a room with books, inside it a box of toys. Human children toys. But Turtle says that wolves do not play."

Nolan looks to the cougar, confusion evident. "What kinds of toys? Did Turtle tell you why the wolves don't play with the toys?"

"Toy animals, balls, dolls." Rabbit looks at Brings, then Nolan. "Is what Turtle said. Wolves all very serious, do not play. Not enough."

Brings-the-Pack rolls his shoulders in what is a decidely human shrug. "I have never seen the wolves playing at edgewood. When they play, it tends to be on cellphones or just physically playing with one another without toys. Play is very rare for them, though."

Nolan tips his face toward the sky, thoughtful. "Huh," he says aloud, bringing his gaze back to the others. "I don't think I ever saw the toys, there, but you're certainly right that they don't know how to play the way they should. Cell phones, computers, digital games aren't play," he adds with a sigh. "They're... pacifiers."

Rabbit tilts her head to one side. "Do not know that word, pacifiers."

"A thing that calms someone down," Brings-the-Pack offers by way of explanation. "Some of them," he says to Nolan, "likely need things to help pacify them."

"Mmm," grunts Nolan, likely in agreement. "But it isn't play." He comes back around to where he was seated earlier. "Calming can be important, but I wonder what we could gain by bringing play into our lives."

Rabbit gives Brings a bright smile and a pleased "Thankyou!" at the explanation. She has no answer to Nolan's wondering, though.

Brings-the-Pack suggests a possibility. "They would possibly play until someone started fighting by accident because they got upset at being beaten by someone they viewed as being lesser than they."

"We spar," Nolan says with a nod toward the cougar. "The same danger is there, but with the only real gain being in our ability to fight. What are the lessons learned through play? Through true play. What do children gain? Could that be applied to cubs?"

Rabbit tilts her head to the other side and looks thoughtful. Idly, she paws at the ground between her feet as she considers Nolan's questions.

Brings-the-Pack offers as possibilities a number of suggestions. "Socialization, release, and perhaps a building of relationships," the cat-mage says.

Nolan nods, his grin growing. "Absolutely. So why don't we? Games, not on a machine, not isolated and trapped within ourselves, but making those connections, learning to deal with the monster within when it reacts to frustration, learning to let go some of what gets pent, without losing ourselves completely." He circles again, but this time, his path takes him all the way around the fire and toward the sloping path out of the caern.

Brings-the-Pack considers Nolan's idea and suggests, "Perhaps this is something you should bring up at the next new moon moot? I am not sure how well it might go over, with the enemy having just taken over Edgewood and the caern being threatened. But perhaps some kind of game that relates to protecting the caern or spending more time in the woods on patrol than in the city where, should the enemy attack, it would be too late to come and help?"

Nolan turns back, just at the beginning of the trail out of the caern, and laughs. "I think it's a thought best kept for if we ever see cubs again. I have other questions to ask at the moot, and maybe I'll learn what I need to from the responses I get." He lifts one hand, half-salute, half-wave. "Another time."

Rabbit abruptly perks up, looking back toward the treeline. Reverting back to fox form, she takes off for the forest.