Merry Christmas

[hazlogs]

It is currently 15:46 Pacific Time on Thu Dec 25 2003.

Currently the moon is in the waxing No Moon phase (14% full).

Cockroach Mansion -- Upstairs

The dark opulence of the mansion's decor continues into the upper floors, where
rooms are numerous and hallways are long. Most of the rooms are empty and
haven't been opened for years; only a few are furnished and even fewer
actually occupied. Still, the hardwood floors are in good repair, and the
hallways are well-lit.

It's hard to believe that it's Christmas at the Dominion, but Christmas it is.
Salem climbs the stairs, and the floorboards creak underfoot as he makes
his way over toward Cat's room. A giftwrapped box is under one arm.

Joshua had spent the day in his room, oblivious to what day it was. The room
was mostly silent, despite the fact that the light was still on from the
previous evening.

Since being grounded, Cat had returned to hiding in his room; although a box of
cereal from the kitchen has gone missing, if anyone likes Lucky Charms.

Salem pauses outside Joshua's door for a moment, his eyes narrowing
thoughtfully. Then he sighs silently and moves a few down to Cat's door,
upon which he knocks -- rather insistantly.

There's shuffling inside, papers rustling and sheets throwing about. "Who is
it," calls out Cat, sounding very subdued.

A soft clamor can be heard from Josh's room, followed by the sound of him
pacing to the door. It opens a hand's berth, Josh's head poking out as he
looks down the hallway.

Salem answers Cat's query by opening his door and entering the room, present
and all. He makes for a very unlikely Santa Claus. No hat. Not even a
beard. The flannel shirt he's tossed on over his t-shirt is red, at
least... but St. Nick he ain't.

Joshua shrugs as he ducks back into his room, closing the door behind him. More
noise, before the room becomes quiet.

Cat's curled on the bed much the way yesterday found him- sheets tangled in his
limbs, papers scattered everywhere. There's actually a few of them
stacked up neatly, over near the small fold-up table. The boy blinks,
looking confused. "I'm grounded," he says, rather obviously.

Salem wrinkles his nose and nods sharply. His eye rakes over the mess; he
shakes his head, then walks over to offer the gift -- green paper with
candy canes on it -- to Cat. The box is about the right size for
something boring, like a sweater and slacks.

The theurge's eyes open wide, and he almost smiles as he reaches for the gift,
bringing it into his lap and gently taking off the candy canes. "I know
I've been disobedient- you didn't have to get me presents," Cat says
apologetically, but he can't hide the excitement in his voice. "I only
made more drawings for people..." He looks up, just as he's about to tear
the paper, then smiles brightly and rips it off.

Salem's smile is very faint and rather tired, but its there nonetheless. He
takes a seat at the edge of the bed as Cat tears into the gift. The
clothes-box, when opened, reveals art supplies -- a tin containing
several tubes of quality watercolor paints, a few brushes, and a large
spiral-bound sketchbook suitable for watercolors, with heavy,
rough-surfaced paper.

Cat's eyes fly open, and gingerly he picks up the paints and brushes, reading
the labels and staring at the cover of the book. For a whole minute, he's
utterly speechless. But when the minute ends, he puts the brushes
carefully back in their slots, the paint tubes back in their box. "Now I
can paint just like Miz Rina," he says softly, eyeing his new possessions
with awe and reverence.

Salem's smile widens slightly as he nods. Getting up, he moves over toward the
table of stacked papers, pausing to ruffle the boy's hair on the way.

Joshua opens the door again, wide enough to look down either side of the hall,
before scampering off, half hurriedly down the stairs.

There's about half a dozen stacks, each marked with a scribble on the top
sheet- Tabia, Catherine, M. Rina, M. Salem, M. Christopher, M. Martinez.
Underneath the top sheets are sketches, most loose and unrefined, a few
colored, one a collage, but there's fifteen in each stack.

Salem arches an eyebrow and looks back at Cat, head cocked questioningly.

The cub smiles sheepishly. "I didn't have any money," he explains. "I'm going
to get a job soon- or, um. After I'm grounded, maybe. Yours is there,
isn't it?"

Salem nods, tapping the stack with "M. Salem" on the top with a finger. Then he
picks it up and carries it over to the bed to look through it.

Sketches of a dark wolf standing, sitting with its tail curled around it's
toes. It could be any dark wolf, if not for the white eye. Some are side
views of Salem, as he used to be. The sketches are only a few inches
high, some two to three on a page. One's a hand holding a coffee mug, the
perspective from far below...like a wolfcub watching the table above it.
There's one that's colored, made of magazine ads ripped up and newspaper
print. The words are all things like "endurance", "leadership",
"perseverance", "initiative", and the pictures are of dark shoes or black
ties, a wrist watch. The collage itself forms the Glass Walker symbol.
And the last picture...well. It's Salem sitting, perhaps on a couch, in a
stance quite reminiscent of Lincoln. The elder looks as though he'd just
been told something very irritating- maybe that his face was slightly
uneven or his left side smudged? None of the sketches are perfect...but
they are a far cry from the rudimentary stick figures Cat used to produce.

Salem goes through the pages slowly, taking time to examine each one. He smiles
again at the collage, nodding approvingly, and when he reaches the last
picture -- best for last, it seems -- he stops to look at it for a long
time, longer than the others. His expression's difficult to read.

The cub shifts uncomfortably as his legs protest being sat upon. "I know
they're not useful," he mumbles. "And that I probably should be spending
more time studying than drawin'...but...they don't take -that- long to
do." He smiles faintly. "That's why I made a lot for everyone..."

Salem looks over at the cub and smiles again; while not as exuberant as Cat was
over _his_ gift, the Philodox seems quite touched. He ruffles the cub's
blond hair again and then gets up, beckoning him to follow.

Cat carefully untangles himself from the sheets, popping a muscle or bone in
his shoulder when he does and stands up from the bed. He glances at his
present and you can just see him perk up into a bright smile again, just
from looking at it. "Are we going somewhere?" he asks, rather obviously.

Salem answers with a shake of his head and a finger pointing toward the floor
-- downstairs? He leads the way, Cat's gift to him held carefully in
hand, down the stairs.

Joshua is down in the Kitchen, head in the fridge as he prods about, looking
for food for the day. He hums as he considers cold cuts, yet again.

Salem waves Cat toward the kitchen -- he himself splits off to drop the stack
of artwork over in his office.

Cat pokes his head in the kitchen, blinking at Joshua.

Joshua continues to rummage in the most undignified manner, opening a some
Tupperware container before rapidly closing it. Whatever was in that was
no longer in the realm of the edible. "Ugh."

"I have cereal up in my room," the theurge cub offers softly, still halfhiding
behind the doorweay.

Joshua's head jerks up as the geekcub tries to stand up with his head still
inside the fridge. Again. "Darn it!" He curses, pulling his head out and
rubbing it with a crooked face. Closing the fridge, Josh turns to Cat,
massaging the back of his head with vigor. "Oh. Hey, Cat." He offers,
with a slight grimmace.

Cat blinks slowly. "Hi. Joshua," he repeats, giving the other boy a long hard
look. "Want cereal?" he repeats.

Joshua shakes his head, still holding the back. "I had Lucky charms yesterday
'n couldn't find them so I figured that 'd eat sumthin healthy fer today.
Thanks, though."

Salem appears behind Cat. He gives the young Theurge an odd look, then taps him
in the shoulder and gestures him inside.

Cat almost-smiles, a little ruefully. "Okay." When Salem reappears he cants his
head curiously, and steps into the kitchen.

Joshua involuntarily cringes as the Crazy Mute appears. Looking down at his
feet, Josh manages sullenly, "'vening Mister Salem."

Salem shakes his head a bit at Josh, looking over the Ahroun cub and the signs
of his attempt to dig up some vague dinner. Then he, too, glances into
the fridge, mouth thinning at the signs of leftovers and cold cuts and
other such things. He snorts, closes the fridge, and opens up the
freezer, taking out a package of ground turkey meat.

The theurge's eyebrows go up, and he shuffles over to the other side of Josh as
he watches Salem start preparing dinner. If it's not breakfast foods,
salad, or coffee, Cat's at a loss and most everyone knows it.

Joshua cocks his head, as he steps out of the way of Salem, biting his lower
lip as watches the Elder for a moment. He seems nervous at the close
proximity of Salem and Cat, and isn't really good at starting
conversations anyhow. So he fidgets.

Salem glances back at the two cubs, neither of whom seem to be wont to _say_
anything, and before opening up the ground meat, he goes over to the
dry-erase board next to the phone and writes, "Tell Josh about the Laws."
He looks significantly at Cat after this, then starts the process of
turning raw ground meat into hamburgers.

Cat blinks at Salem incredulously, and then at Josh. If the boy had thought Cat
was warming up to him, the cool glance he receives may give him doubts.
"Did anyone tell you about the Litany yet?" he asks.

Staring at the board for a moment, Josh shakes his head, before turning his
attention back to Salem. "I don't think so."

Cat makes a face. "Garou shall not mate with Garou," he rattles off. "First Law
of the Litany. It means you can't marry a werewolf."

Joshua's face goes quizzical. These weren't the types of rules he was
expecting. "... 'kay."

The kitchen soon fills with the sound of meat sizzling on the skillet's hot
surface. Keeping an ear on the proceedings, Salem prepares a side of
steak fries and cuts up toppings for when the burgers are done -- onion,
tomato, lettuce, pickles. It's not a _traditional_ Christmas meal, but
it's leagues better than Cat's cold cereal or Joshua's cold cuts.

The next law, Cat says with importance. "Combat the Wyrm, wherever it dwells
and breeds. Fight evil stuff- vampires. Banes. Things like that."

Joshua turns about, thinking about getting a seat. Instead, though, he backs up
and leans into the counter opposite the stove. "'kay." He furrows his
brow, before asking "What's a Bane?"

Cat rolls his eyes and tugs Joshua out of the kitchen, giving Salem more room
to cook as he explains things to the other cub in the hallway. After
Joshua is thoroughly indoctrinated about banes, Cat excuses himself to go
upstairs. "'Left the cereal there," he explains.