"No real secrets. I just haven't made up my mind yet."

[hazlogs]

It is currently 10:29 Pacific Time on Wed Jun 25 2003.

Currently the moon is in the waning Crescent Moon phase (27% full).

Currently in Saint Claire, it's a sunny day. The temperature is 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from variable directions at 5 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.27 and steady, and the relative humidity is 66 percent. The dewpoint is 49 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius.)

Alicia pages: Ring Ring. Yer cell phone goes off.

You paged Alicia with 'Jack here.'.

Alicia pages: Yo. Its me Lish. Hey.. I'm talking to Q-ball here, cuz he's moving in with me an shit.. an I hear he tangled with that guy who went around killing those people on the news. He was after Sarah. Thats the same guy that you got Jer investigating, right?

Long distance to Alicia: Salem grunts. "I have Jeremy investigating the man who's after Sarah, yes. Do you have any proof that he's the one behind the other killings?"

Alicia pages: Nope. I thought he mentioned they were one in the same. Maybe I'm thinking too far ahead. Anyways.. I'll get to that later. Is Jer having any luck tracking the Russian guy down?

From afar, Alicia starts rambling. "Oh yah.. he says he 'thinks' they were the same, but he isn't sure. Only that the guy was definitly super strong an shit an threw him for a loop. But.. I dunno.. Whatcha think?

You paged Alicia with 'Mmn. It's a possibility. We'll find out when we hunt him down. Jeremy has some leads, and I'd be surprised if he wasn't able to get us a name, at the very least. Possibly an address.'.

Alicia pages: Well... Cool. If you need the stone rite done. I gotcha back. I was also thinking that if Jeremy can't get it done, that maybe I can help out in some way, see if I can draw him out into the open. I got tits for a reason.

Long distance to Alicia: Salem utters a short chuckle. "Two of his victims have been men, Alicia, if we assume that he's the killer from the paper. But it's a good idea. We'll keep it in mind."

Alicia pages: Gotcha. Q mentioned when he was attacked, he was dressed up in dominatrix shit or whatever.. leather an stuff. Sounds all kinky. Anyways, I'll peep ya later bro.

You paged Alicia with 'Excellent. By the way. Thanks for letting Quentin live with you and Tom. Once we get the new house organized, we should be able to get him back out of your hair.'.

Alicia pages: Oh, no problem dude. I hardly see Tom as it is since he works. I'm working... if you call it that." She says with a laugh. "But, anyways, yah, he's a good kid an I could fine tune him for his RoP an shit. Ya'know? By the way.. Yi an I whipped some wyrm tainted spider's ass with Aubrey an Layne in the Umbra, on the Bawn. It was heading for the Caern.

You paged Alicia with 'Mm. I heard. Good job.'.

From afar, Alicia beams over the phone. "Wh00t. Oh yah.. we rocked the hizzouse of Gaia that night. I'm ganna do a few more stakeouts in the Umbra just in case.. you know. Weird that only one was out there, an it was tainted... an it was in the woods.

You paged Alicia with 'I know. Got lost, I suppose. Hm. Well, we'll keep an eye out. Next moot, I'm going to bring up the idea of temporary guardianship again. Sepdet's idea was a good one... especially now.'.

Alicia pages: Damn straight. We still don't got an Alpha or any of that shit." She says with a sigh. "And we need leadership out there.. Robert doesn't want it.

Long distance to Alicia: Salem mms. "Did he say that? I assumed he wouldn't, since he didn't take it before, despite outranking Andrea..."

Alicia pages: Yah, he said that. He's content in just kicking it out there as big time Caern keeper. Shit. I'm about to step up an take leadership, see if everyone will either laugh at me, or challenge me. I figure if someone challenges me, good, that means someone out there actually has heart an is willing to take the role. I just hope its not Owen who kicks my head in." She says with a laugh.

Long distance to Alicia: Salem grunts. "Owen's with Reforged, and Reforged retired themselves out to the park to watch over the wolf packs." There's a short pause. "Don't worry overmuch about the alphaship. It'll be settled next moot, one way or another."

Alicia pages: Oh yah? Whats going down big man?

You paged Alicia with 'I'd rather not say just yet.'.

Alicia pages: Heeeey.. dude.. C'mon now." Alicia tone drops. "Why you need to hide shit from me if its that important?"

Long distance to Alicia: Salem chuckles, a single 'heh'. "No real secrets. I just haven't made up my mind yet."

Alicia pages: "Are you going for Alpha?" She asks, point blankly.

You paged Alicia with 'There's a pause. Then, brusquely, "Do you know anyone else? I may have to. That's all."'.

Alicia pages: I'm pretty biased Salem. You know I gotcha back if you wanna take the stand. We're pack an all, so its fitting. I trust yer judgement. You haven't got us killed yet.

Long distance to Alicia: Salem answers, dryly, "Thanks."

Alicia pages: Anytime bruiser. I know a few people may not like the idea, but, fuck 'em. Tho' I wouldn't mind seeing Sepdet in the position if she'd root her ass here for more then a week at a time. Or, even Kaz. But, yer a good pick since you know whats been going on an you've been around for awhile.

You paged Alicia with 'Sepdet's not around enough, and Kaz doesn't want it. Anyway. We'll see what happens at Moot. Should be middle of next month.'.

Alicia pages: Word up. I'm ganna talk to Robert, take the Voice of the Goddess position up within the tribe, or, perhaps, even become the tribal leader if he wants to relinquish it upon me."

You paged Alicia with 'Mm. Good luck. Anything else I need to know?'.

From afar, Alicia pauses for a moment. "I'm in the mood for waffles." She says, quite seriously. "Well, beyond that... so lets say that this killer isn't the same guy after Sarah. How you wanna deal with that?"

Long distance to Alicia: Salem exhales a breath. "I'd like to do some sniffing around the crime scenes, see if the spirits know anything. Wrong time of the month, though. Mm. Maybe Tesla can do some checking."

Alicia pages: Gotcha. I'll see 'bout snagging up Yi an we'll go fishing. See what comes up. Anyways. I'm outtie. I'm ganna entertain Q-tip for awhile.

You paged Alicia with 'Have fun.'.

Alicia pages: I'll try! *click*


Sunset, or near it.

Currently in Saint Claire, it's a sunny day. The temperature is 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from variable directions at 5 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.26 and falling, and the relative humidity is 34 percent. The dewpoint is 49 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius.)

Currently the moon is in the waning Crescent Moon phase (24% full).

Jermantown Avenue, Industrial Sector

From warehouses a few blocks away from the river, across a chunk of city more than a dozen blocks wide, factories brood over the streets like dark dragons over their piles of treasure, greedy and all-encompassing. Huddling around the factories are smaller, less imposing buildings that are probably warehouses, or storage locations for trucks. The factories spill fumes into the air, darkening the area and blanketing it in a stench to mark humankind's domination over the world. Some of the warehouses stand empty, some are boarded over, and some, on the northern and western fringes of the area, have been converted to bars, with bizarre lighting, frequent brawls, and music that blares loudly at all hours of the night. There are no residences here for anyone to complain, and the factory workers populate the bars thickly. Throughout the area, trash and oil mingle together on alleyway streets, impeding the paths to the dumpsters at the ends of many of the alleys.

It is a little after sunset, when Sarah comes out of the church into the twilight. She carries the heavy hiking pack, sleeping bag stuffsack strapped to the bottom, pillow on top; three-foot by six-inch rectangular bag dangles from a strap over her shoulder. Her hair is pulled back, and it looks as if she's washed her face recently--but she wears the face of a journey's end, not its beginning. Bleak, hollow eyes, and the impassive emotionless mask of her tribe, speak more than scrreaming ever could. She looks... shattered.

The familiar rust-orange Yugo is parked across the street, and Salem's leaning against it, taking a drag off a handrolled cigarette. He's wearing his hair loose again and, in deference to the warm weather, is coatless.

The cerulean bangs of the young galliard's hair shadow his face as he walks out of the church, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket; he looks tired more than anything, frustrated, lips pursed in a frown and gaze low as he follows the girl out into the street, silent. "C'mon," he says quietly, heading to cross the street, "S'this way. Just a few blocks."

Sarah's just taking that setting-out breath, looking about to take in her environment, when she sees Salem and halts at the curb.

Salem taps ash from the end of the cigarette onto the cracked pavement and watches the two from across the street with an air of calm watchfulness.

Quentin, noticing that Sarah's stopped.. lifts his head to look over in that direction, and there's actually a flash of relief in his expression. "Hey!" He calls across the street in tired, relieved tones, stopping beside the kinswoman, "I was just gonna call you.."

Sarah returns Salem's scrutiny, almost as calm--save for the numb look in her eyes.

Salem lifts an eyebrow, then straightens up with languid grace and gestures, beckoning the two over. His expression's bland, hard to read.

Quentin steps from the curb to head over, his own expression too tired not to read easily. As he draws closer to the car, he cuts to the heart of the matter in sour tones, "...Leonard stopped by."

Sarah steps down from the curb, and paces across with him. She meets Salem's gaze, her chin tilting up a fraction, movement somewhat restricted by the pack and gear.

Salem takes a long drag off the cigarette, then crushes it out on the hood of the Yugo and flicks the butt, with arrow-straight accuracy into a nearby wastecan. "Mm. I overheard some of Jeremy's conversation with him." He looks from Quentin to Sarah and back again. "What happened?"

"Yi," Quentin says in rather dark tones as he steps up onto the curb near Salem's car, reaching out to rest a hand against it, "Decided that it'd be good for the Wendigo tribe to tell him everything going on and bring him straight to her."

Sarah sets down the cot in its neat rectangular bag, somewhere close to the rear bumper. Then she unlimbers herself of the big pack, letting it fall with a thud as she bends over, pulled by its weight.

Salem grimaces, arms folding across his chest. "Jesus. Thought she had more sense. Then again, she used to pack with him." He shakes his head and glances at Sarah for a moment. "You two need a ride?"

Sarah pages: Gun. Small of her back. When she leans down he sees the silhouette.

Quentin shakes his head a bit, "Fuck, he even just about challenged Renee on her own turf, too.. showed her even less respect that I've seen you do, and that's when you're pissed at her. If there's a mad dog around at all, it's him.." A grimace, before he looks to Sarah.. and says quietly, "I've been 'ordered' to see her to Meiran's and get her settled in." Is that a hint of bitterness there?

Sarah sits down crosslegged at Quentin's feet. "There was some trouble with a friend," she says quietly.

Salem frowns, then glances around. "Get in. I'll give you a ride, and you can tell me what happened, exactly. We'll take the long way." Heading to the back of the car, he unlocks the trunk.

Quentin's gaze lingers on Sarah's dark hair.. and then he steps over to one side and reaches to pick up her pack to put it in the trunk. "It's a long story," he says quietly, "Take the long-long way."

Sarah rolls to her feet, the movement slower than it has been. Without a word, she picks up the cot--much lighter than the 30 or 40 pounds of the pack--and adds it to the trunk.

There's plenty of room, and the Yugo's trunkspace is clean. With the kinswoman's things stowed, Salem opens the passenger door. Quentin is gestured into the back; Sarah gets shotgun, the seat of honor. At least, if the Walker has anything to say about it.

There's no argue from Quentin as he's ushered towards the back, sliding in and crunching himself up to make room for himself.

Sarah glances to Salem, a single look; then she slides into the passenger seat.

Salem is calm -- thank the knife moon for that -- but his expression is grim. Settling himself behind the wheel, he starts the car and pulls away from the curb. The long way around indeed... he starts off in the opposite direction of the Yellow River Medicine Shop. The car runs surprisingly smoothly for what it is and the tank's full.

"All right," the Walker Elder says after a moment, his eyes on the road. "From the beginning."

A deep breath's drawn in, Quentin's head rested against the seat as he closes his eyes. "I was settling in at 'licia's place, unpacking my shit.. and my cell rang, so I answered. It was Yi. She wanted me to go tell Leo details about Sarah's attacker.. since she'd already told him all about everything. So I swung by, told him I didn't know much, he started demanding to see her -right now-. So Yi offered to take him right there. I came along, since.. well. I was worried about her.'

Sarah closes her eyes, and leans her head back against the seat.

Salem grunts. "Understandable. Go on."

"So," Quentin continues quietly as the car drives along, "First thing is, he tells her that they need to 'talk' privately, and they go downstairs. I dunno what they said. I was arguing with Yi, who seems to think that forcing an emotionally abusive asshole who thinks of his kin as property on Sarah is somehow good for kinfolk in general.."

"Thought she was wiser than that," Salem mutters sourly, under his breath.

Sarah turns her face away, looking out the window. "He said he was taking me back. That I had no choice." Her voice is quiet, emotionless. "I told him he'd have to cage me. He said he'd--" Her jaw works for a moment, and there's a touch of curtness when she speaks again. "He said he would, pretty much. A lot of othing things. Accusations."

Quentin's story is de-railed by that, as he looks back over towards the front seat with a furrowed brow.. eyes narrowed as he asks sharply, "He said /what/?"

Salem's hands tighten on the steering wheel, and he grumbles something in a slavic language.

"He said a lot of things." Her voice is hardly more than a whisper.

The sound of Quentin's teeth grinding together are almost audible.. and he shakes his head curtly, saying quietly, "I asked Renee to go down and check on her. Yi came up awhile later, storming out and ranting about not being involved anymore."

Salem just grunts, his gaze fixed on the road.

"I upset her, maybe," Sarah murmurs. "Or she was angry from thinking about Sepdet-rhya." No feeling, in that detached voice.

"Apparently," Quentin says tiredly, eyes closing, "Leonard gave up on the 'let's go' thing because he didn't say she had to leave immediately.. but he promptly got all in Renee's face, threatening her, calling her a 'mutt' and generally making no secret of the fact that he thought she was worthless when she told him to get out of her church. Nicely, the first time."

The Elder's mouth twists into something resembling a smile. It's a thin, tight, bitterly sardonic expression, though. "The first time?"

"Song Yi tried to persuade him to stay, and protect me. I tried to tell her it was impossible." So quiet, and flat, that voice. Touched with hoarseness. "It is only one thing. Leonard reminded me of that. One small thing. Only that he said if I went near her, kept her as a friend, he'd kill her. Maybe it's not so great a price, to give up a friend."

Quentin's lips twist into a faint smirk of his own. "..yeah, well. She became less and less polite, but never actually snapped on him. I was impressed. She didn't want him around upsetting Sarah and the other kin, and.." He trails off, and then says sharply, "No. Sepdet-rhya told me once.. everything is small. You can't forget any of it, if you can help it."

Salem's bitter smile is gone. "Sometimes, you have to choose between loyalties. So." He makes a turn, then stops at a light. "Eventually he left, I presume?"

Sarah closes her eyes, her jaw tightening.

Quentin says quietly, "Yeah. After Sarah declared him dead to her and called him a child. I had to hold her back from jumping him."

"I wasn't," Sarah says quietly. "I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe that the gun was downstairs. Or that I just wanted to walk out."

Salem glances over at the kinswoman, eyebrows raised. He nods. The light changes, the car again moves forward. "So... who ordered you to Yellow River?"

Quentin is quiet for a long moment, before glancing out the side window. "Lyra." It's said rather flatly.

Salem's eyes narrow. "Lyra?"

"No one," Sarah says at the same time. A moment later, she looks straight ahead once more.

"Sorry," Quentin says quietly, "Lyra-rhya."

Salem shakes his head. "Not what I meant. What was her reasoning?"

"She offered," Sarah says quietly. "I don't want to -- I don't want him to drag me back to-- wherever. And he knows about the church now. I needed a place to sleep tonight. So I said yes."

"She figured," Quentin says in neutral tones, "That it'd be less easy for Leonard to just march in."

Leaning her head back, Sarah closes her eyes again. Wetness glitters faintly on the dark lashes, but no tears fall. "Maybe you should just-- take me out of the city somewhere. To one of the parks. I'll stay out of touch for a while."

Salem makes a little 'mm' noise. "That it would," he says in reply to Quentin. He flicks a glance sidelong over toward Sarah -- not pitying, but wryly sympathetic, nonetheless. "Don't be foolish," he answers the kinswoman. "A few days at the shop... long enough for you to get yourself situated at a new apartment."

Quentin falls silent, watching the city out the window.

Sarah swallows. "That was my thought," she says quietly. "But I didn't know about-- the complications. And now along with all the other trouble, Quentin is fighting with his friend."

Salem opens his mouth, then closes it. He shakes his head a bit. He's made a fairly wide loop and is now nearing the shop. "I see."

Sarah is silent for a time, until the car slows. Then, quietly, she says, "I'm sorry. For all of this."

Salem grunts. "Hardly your fault." He parks the car and gets out to unlock the trunk.

Sarah lets out a breath, a sound of fultility. Then she gets out of the car.

"It's not," Quentin echoes quietly, as he steps out onto the curb.

Salem helps the kinswoman with her things. "Get some sleep," he advises her. To Quentin, he asks, "Going to stay?"

Sarah shoulders the pack, and glances over to the boy. "Quentin," she says quietly. It isn't quite a plea--but it's the closest a prideful Wendigo can get.

Quentin is about to answer in the negative, when she speaks his name.. and he glances her way, uncertain, before nodding just a bit. "Alright," he says quietly, "I'm gone 'fore the morning, though."

Salem nods, giving the cub an approving look. "Anything further happens, let me know." He closes the trunk and looks at the two of them for a moment.

"Thank you," Sarah says quietly. it might be to either one of them. She digs into a pocket for the keys, and offers them to Quentin, two shiny bits of metal resting in her open hand.

Quentin's head tips in a slight nod to Salem, replying quietly, "Will do. By the way, Jer has the list of russian guys at the school, he made a copy for you. Not sure if he told you." A step over as he reaches for the keys, walking past towards the alleyway.

Salem grunts. "No, he didn't. Glad he's been keeping up with that, though. Anyway. Good night to you both." With another nod, he gets back into the car.