"We're Garou. We're... territorial."

[hazlogs]

It is currently 17:27 Pacific Time on Wed Jan 14 2004.

Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (50% full).

The tower is as cold as ever, still reeking of the cleaning chemicals from
      Monday. The bloodstains, as if to spite two days of scrubbing, still 
      clung onto the walls stubbornly as a permanent reminder of Signe's two 
      lessons. The Glyphs are back on the walls, and the white board filled 
      with attempts at reproducing them. Josh himself sits on the cot, staring 
      idly into one of his notebook, the page opened to the sketch of the Glyph 
      on Rina's neck. The wound on his throat is gone, cleaned and healed.

Salem's arrival is announced by the sound of the heavy door's locks turning. He
      steps in, wearing black t-shirt and matching sweatpants. He eyes the 
      place, then closes the door behind him and shifts down to wolf form. He 
      makes it look easy.

Joshua looks up as the lock turns, thwaping the covers of the Notebook
      together. The cub looks down, not looking directly at the elder. Instead 
      he moves forward off of the cot, standing as he enters. "Evening 
      Salem-Rhya..."

Scar utters a thin, high, raspy growl of greeting and sits down. How are you
      feeling?

"My throat's better: it healed up." Josh responds half heartedly, waiting until
      the elder is sitting down before he sets himself on the Lid of the trunk.

Scar's left ear quirks sideways and informs the cub that he meant more than
      Joshua's wounds. He regards the younger Garou critically. Your time as 
      one of us has, so far, not been a smooth path.

Joshua leans forward, planting his elbows on his knees. "... 'guess it could be
      better, yeah." The Cub agrees reluctantly, seemingly unwilling to admit 
      further than that. "'just been think'n about what Mis Signe-Rhya says, 
      'bout having ta stop resistin'."

Scar agrees. You are not just a human who turns into a wolf, or a wolf who was
      born human, or a boy who turns into a monster. You are something entirely 
      different. Part of you is human. Part of you is wolf. And part of you is 
      _spirit_.

Joshua nods minutely, sliding uncomfortably on the trunk lid. "I know, 'n 'm
      not try'n to split off the wolf anymore..." He responds quietly, "I still 
      dunno if I can accept it, though. Seems every time I give it an inch it 
      does... I do sum'thin dumb."

Scar looks at the cub sternly. The wolf is not your anger. Your anger comes
      from Gaia's pain. It's an echo of Luna's own anger. He exhales. Take the 
      wolf form.

Joshua's face cramps in horror: there briefly, before the look being
      suppressed. "Uh... now? Do I need ta?" He verbally backpedals, stalling 
      for time.

Scar snerls, his hackles bristling. He stands up and glowers. Yes. Four legs.
      Now.

Joshua lowers his head unconsiously, standing up off from the trunk. Letting
      out a breath, he blurs and it's a moment before he shifts up to Lupus. 
      When he's done, he shakes himself off before tucking his head and 
      lowering his tail.

Lithe and sleek, this wolf is of a more northern descent. His tawny hide is a
      clean gray-white of a wolf of arctic descent, stretched over a clean 
      frame. He stands about two and a half feet tall at the shoulder; from tip 
      to tail he's just about four feet long. His ribs are slightly apparent, 
      and his hide shows where many of the bones are. His face and muzzle is 
      smattered with a darker gray fur, as well as his entire back, giving him 
      the appearance of a 'mask.' Four legs connect with the ground, and his 
      tail is tipped with another darker gray splotch. In the darker areas, a 
      light red tinge is detectable, but only if one looks close enough. Erect 
      ears cap his head, and brown eyes peer out from under his brow with 
      unmistakable intelligence.

Scar pads forward and examines the cub briefly. Then, casually, he knocks his
      shoulder into Joshua's, the force enough to stagger the cub a bit.

Joshua is runs entirely on autopilot now, immediately laying down on his side.
      He's not there long, however, before he consciously picks himself back 
      up, backing away from scar. A confused look fixes itself on his face as 
      he backpedals.

The problem, Scar tells him, circling around, is that you have very few
      instincts. This isn't your fault. You're not only human-born, you're 
      Glass Walker, and in our tribe, human mind is strongest and wolf 
      instincts weakest.

Joshua stops, canting his head as he asks Scar if he was supposed to do what
      the felt to do, then? He still, whether he realizes it or not, holds 
      himself submissively, ears flattened against his head with tail and body 
      low.

Scar cocks his head. What did you feel you should do?

Joshua turns a little more, still facing Scar. Lay down, stay there, the Cub
      responds. Theres a little hesitiation, before he adds that there might 
      have been something else.

Scar looks intrigued. Something else?

Joshua curls his tail under himself, shying his head away from Scar
      momentarily. Pee on self, the cub adds embarrassedly. But I stopped 
      myself from doing that.

Scar splays his ears, darkly amused. Perhaps your instincts are not so
      terrible, then. He shakes himself. There are other forms besides human, 
      wolf, and the wolf-man. Have you taken the near-man or the near-wolf?

Joshua seems mortified that it was the right thing to do, shying a little more.
      The Cub shakes his head 'no' in the human way, saying that he hasn't 
      heard of the other two.

Scar shifts upward with a creak of bone and twisting sinew as he changes into a
      dire wolf; he's just about as large as he is in Crinos, but his body is 
      still that of a dour-legged creature. Then he rasps out a yowling word in 
      the Mother Tongue. ~Hispo.~

Joshua slowly backs away from the now Dire-Scar. He seems a touch frightened by
      it, and the unintelligible (to him, at least) noise it made.

Scar settles back on his haunches, massive claws digging at the room's battered
      carpeting. That is something else you must learn. Our true speech. Not 
      human speech. Not wolf speech. We call it ~the Mother Tongue~ and it is 
      very old.

Joshua attempts to reproduce the phrase questioningly, but fails with the form.
      Repressing his instincts once more, he sits down likewise on his 
      haunches. Use it why, the cub questions.

Scar huffs. It is better than wolf form. More complex. And all Garou understand
      it. But hard to speak in human or wolf form. Hurts the throat.

Joshua nods (human gesture again) agreement with the Elder, that it does hurt
      the throat. But if all Garou understand, why don't I?

Scar snorts. Wolf speech is instinct. Garou speech is _learned_, like human
      speech. But Garou over all the world learn it.

Joshua peers dubiously, but doesn't press it. Does it take long to learn?
      Difficult, he questions. Does sound more complex.

Scar flicks an ear dismissively. All Garou learn it. You are smart. You'll
      learn it, too. Now. Take the shape I'm in. You are now ~lupus~ and I am 
      ~hispo~. Become ~hispo~.

Joshua remains firmly seated and still for a long moment, the cub unfamiliar
      with the form. After a minute, he grows upward to match the larger Elder 
      for form. Shaking his head after he finished, he questions the elder if 
      this was correct.

If it could be called one, this 'wolf' is of a more northern descent. His tawny
      hide is a clean gray-white of a wolf of arctic descent, stretched over a 
      clean frame. However, he is entirely too huge to be a wolf: at the 
      shoulder, he stands easily four and a half feet tall, and six feet long. 
      Easily the size of a small pony, his head and Jaws seem even more out of 
      proportion to the rest of him, as if more suited for tearing apart 
      animals then eating them. His ribs are slightly apparent, and his hide 
      shows where many of the bones are. His face and muzzle is smattered with 
      a musky red-gray fur, as well as his entire back, giving him the 
      appearance of a 'mask.' Four legs connect with the ground, and his tail 
      is tipped with another darker gray splotch. Brown eyes peer out from 
      under his brow with unmistakable intelligence.

Scar looks pleased. ~The Mother Tongue~ will be easier for you to speak now.
      The human form we call ~Homid~ and the wolf-man form is ~Crinos~. There 
      is another that is near-man as your form is now near-wolf. It's called 
      ~Glabro~.

Joshua further represses the wolf instinct to the back of his mind, nodding
      human-like as he listens to the explanation. After Salem finishes his 
      piece, the Cub curls his claws downward into the tormented carpet, 
      attempting to repeat the Words in the order Scar reported them.

Scar snaps his jaws together, teeth clicking closed on the empty air. Better
      with practice, he notes, but seems somewhat satisfied. He gives more 
      words. Your tribe is ~Glass Walker~ and you, being full moon, are an 
      ~Ahroun~. The word is the same for your breed as your human form. ~Homid~.

Joshua dutifully repeats the three words, murdering ~Glass Walker~, but coming
      closer on his second attempt at ~Homid~. He cants his head, asking if he 
      said them correctly?

Scar snorts. Yes and no. He repeats the term for their tribe, enunciating
      carefully. Even in this giant wolf form, his voice is raspy and 
      high-pitched.

Joshua tries ~Glass Walker~ again, the second attempt a little better than the
      first, but only as a two baby talk is closer to English than babbling.

Scar chuffs. From now on, this will be part of your lessons. This and shifting,
      until you can do them easily. You also need something wolves can call you.

Joshua cants his head confusedly, asking if his name would not work for wolves?
      And if so, why?

Scar stares flatly at the cub. Try to say your name. Wolf-throats cannot make
      those sounds. That's why all Garou have other names, why I am also called 
      Scar, or ~Scar~.

Joshua sits strait up, leveling his head as he takes Scar's challenge,
      attempting to say his name. Failing, he frowns, attempting another time, 
      more a twisted groan then anything comprehensible. Finally, he seems 
      convinced, saying that the elder was right, and his name was hard.

Scar is unsurprised to be proven right. Many have names pointing to a great
      thing done. Or names that point to something about themselves.

The Walker Elder studies the cub critically, pondering the question of what to
      name Joshua.

Joshua, taking advantage of the lull, informs he has something to tell the
      elder, that he meant to say after he fought Cat, but could not remember. 
      If he has the time for it?

Scar indicates that, yes, he does have time.

Joshua shifts back down to Breed form when Scar indicates this, still sitting
      on his haunches. "Aren't words for some of the stuff in wolf, so 'm gonna 
      say in English." He explains. "Miss Rina says your gonna go to the Umbra 
      soon and look around, right? You, Sig-Rhya, and Cutter-Rhya?"

Scar utters a thin, snerly growl of irritation. He had hoped to, but the moon
      is getting thinner. That makes the other side more dangerous.

Joshua nods, although not quite understanding. "I have a few things I think you
      aught to know, 'n it'll help ya... but I need to know that you'll not 
      tell anyone outside the tribe 'fore I do. I got a good reason fer it, but 
      you'll hafta believe me for a moment." He seems to let this hang, waiting 
      for Scar to afirm that he would do just that. Hopefully, anyhow.

Scar cocks his head, his mismatched eyes narrowing. I take promises very
      seriously... but, very well. No one who is not of the ~Glass Walkers~ 
      will hear from me what you say.

"I've been talking to a ghosts, recently." He starts, relieved that Salem made
      the promise. "He's told me a lot about them. He lives up here with me, 'n 
      we're kinda friends. His name is Max, and he says they're called the 
      Restless. They're dead, but not quite. They won't bother anyone that 
      doesn't bother them. They live in the house. This place is their fort: 
      It's too dangerous for them to leave here often, so they don't. None of 
      them died in here, I'd bet. All of them came here because it was safe 
      here, and there's something here they need to survive." Josh carries on, 
      in the same speech he gave to Cat. "There are also things called 
      Specters. They're evil Ghosts. They want to hurt people, but they have a 
      hard time. They're here too, but not as many as the Restless. The 
      Restless don't like them I think. And the restless: you're all wrong 
      about them. There isn't five, or ten. I'd bet there's a whole community 
      here, all trying to survive what ever is outside." He pauses a moment, 
      before carrying on. "Inside the mansion, there's a demon here, or there 
      was. It's gone, they say. And for some reason it hurts them still, like 
      the house is poisoned now. Not an evil spirit, but they say really a real 
      demon. And what ever is outside is more scary than this demon. Both are 
      so frightening that they don't like to talk about it, but whatever is 
      outside is so scary that they barricade themselves in here with it" He 
      takes a breath, all the talking winding him slightly. "And all the 
      hurting and the torment they're going through: it's happened before. It's 
      a cycle, and they know what's going to happen next. Like a clock. The 
      Demon is causing this, which is why they're all hurt. They don't believe 
      we can stop it. But I think they secretly believe we can. Max wants me to 
      protect him, 'n I know he wouldn't ask me to do something I couldn't do. 
      So there is a way to stop it, or at least make it easier on all of them."

Scar listens to all of this carefully, his gaze never leaving Joshua's face.
      Slowly, he shifts back into human form and pushes his hands into his 
      pockets. "If we destroy this... demon, as they call it, it'll help both 
      of us, then. Yes?"

Joshua nods curtly, "They would have some rest to help sort things out, 'n
      maybe make their way on... and we would not have as many problems with 
      sightings, because the hurting would stop. But as I said, they're 
      insistent that the Demon is gone, but is still causing the cycle... it's 
      already gone. I dunno if you can destroy something already destroyed."

Salem's mouth thins. "We'll see." He looks Joshua over again. "Why did you want
      this kept a secret?"

This Josh can answer quickly and confidently. It's clear he's considered this
      before. "They need rest. They need peace. KC-Rhya told me about some of 
      the other tribes, 'n other might come here to bother them, like the 
      Uktena. They wouldn't get the peace and rest they need if others knew 
      about their fortress here... 'n what if one of the others tells a bad 
      spirit? They would know where to attack, 'n that would kill them."

Salem rubs his chin. "My packmates, Cutter, Signe, and Jean, should know this.
      Since they're helping resolve this."

Joshua nods slowly. "'n thats okay. I don't wanna put Sig-Rhya or anyone else
      in any danger... but only if they don't talk to others. It's important 
      that we keep it private."

Salem grunts squeakily. "My pack, and the tribe. No one else. Fine."

Joshua gets off his haunches finally, pacing across the room to one of the
      notebooks. Flipping it to a page, he slowly tears that one out, folding 
      it neatly and putting it in another notebook. He closes the book back up, 
      carrying it over and setting it down in front of Salem. "It's everything. 
      Just ignore the Japanese... I wrote it so no one else could read it, 'n 
      the English has everything in it." He notes, backing up to where he was 
      squatted, and resumes the position. "Ya can check with Jer if you don't 
      believe me."

Salem arches an eyebrow as he takes the notebook. "You've been busy." That
      sounded like a note of approval.

"He's my friend. He helped me realize that yer not demons or bad people... 'n
      he doesn't judge me." Josh explains softly. "I owe them that... I hafta 
      protect them from what's coming, if I can." He looks to Salem with a 
      baleful look. "Everyone says I shouldn't talk to the dead. But they're 
      really nice people, once you get to know them."

Salem's mouth twists into a grimace. "All _my_ experiences with them have been
      bad. And they haven't made living in this house very comfortable." His 
      tone is sharp, edging toward shrill, but then he shakes his head and 
      adds, more mildly, "We're Garou. We're... territorial."

Joshua shakes his head, but doesn't respond to the comments for a moment. "Max
      said to tell you he was sorry for all the trouble, but I don't think it'd 
      change your opinion, would it?"

Salem's jaw is tight, but he shrugs curtly. "Tell him I appreciate the
      sentiment, next you see him."

Joshua nods minutely once. "... 'n that's what I had ta say." He finishes up,
      sticking his knuckles against the floor lightly.

Salem smiles a dark, faint smile. "Well done." Praise? Actual _praise_? Then he
      sniffs, solemn and dour again. "Practice shifting some more, and those 
      words I gave you. And think about what you want to be called besides 
      'Joshua'." He starts for the door, notebook under his arm.

Joshua stands as Salem moves to leave. The cub turns a nice shade of Red from
      the compliment, hesitantly crossing his arms. "'kay, Salem-Rhya." Is 
      about all the aknowedgement he can manage.

Salem glances back at him, gives another of those brief, tight smiles, then
      opens the door and goes through. It closes behind him, and the locks 
      click shut, one after the other.