1/31/04
Center of the Caern
This area of the clearing is about 30 meters wide and is a mixture of dark soil
and clay throughout. The ground is mostly mud, but patches of grass,
halted by winter's cold, are beginning to peek through the ground and
take root. Near the center of the clearing, a small cairn has been built
with white stone and quartz--what was left of the beautiful boulder that
was once there. None of the stones is bigger than a softball.
Around you, twenty yards in every direction, stretches the caern. To the
southeast, a waterfall plummets over the edge of the chasm into a small
pool in the caern; nearby, to the southwest, steam comes from cracks in
the ground, perhaps some of the same water. Northwest, a rocky spar juts
out of the ground at a low angle, showing a sloping but smooth top. The
chasm walls narrow a bit to the northeast, causing some of the mist to
swirl in that area.
Jacinta raises an eyebrow, but does not otherwise respond as she packs the rest
of her tools carefully away and hangs the bag over her shoulder.
Joshua stands up, shaking off the drizzle that had drained onto his pelt during
the ritual. With a heavy sigh, he looks up to the moon. It is time, he
chuffs. Need to find Scar-Rhya and Storm-Rhya for their return. He
affords the Wendigo a quick glances, as if he fears she might abandon him
this very instant.
Winter's Child, in homid form and not looking all that put out by the cold,
rainy weather, picks her way barefoot down into the caern, carefully.
Jacinta rises and smiles gently at the Walker cub. "Good."
By the waterfall, Scar and Signe arrive together, the lupus-form Glass Walker
Elder preceding the Get of Fenris slightly. He pauses to scent the air,
then stalks into the center of the caern, predatory and grim.
Winter's Child edges quickly away from the new arrivals -- away from them and
closer to Jacinta. She eyes the pair with sullen wariness, chewing on her
lower lip.
The cub's responce is simple: Thank you, Rhya. He doesn't need to say what for,
as it's said wordlessly. He turns as the two elders stalk in, the cub
backing up to keep a respectful distance between them. Pushing off
against the ground, the cub rears up onto his hind legs, muscles and
swine cracking as he shifts as far as he is allowed to, into the Crinos
form. ~Defiant-Storm-Rhya, Scar-Rhya.~ He wastes no time greeting the two
once he's done shifting, bowing his head slightly.
Jacinta moves to stand beside and slightly behind Joshua. To Winter's Child she
offers a grin, but gestures with both hands in a downward motion away
from her body. Attention turning to the Fostern, she bows her head and
lets the cub speak for himself.
Winter's Child furrows her brows at the older Wendigo, then backs off a few
steps and sinks into a squat, sitting on her bare heels in the cold, wet
ground.
Signe looks sidelong at the gaunt girl, and she can't help but express her
distaste with a deepening frown. Eventually her gaze turns to a more
immediate concern--the Walker cub. For now, though, she remains quiet
beside Scar.
Scar spares the bony stranger the barest glance, then focuses on Joshua. The
Glass Walker rears up, body shifting and blurring until he matches the
cub's form -- a nine-foot wall of midnight fur and viciously hooked
claws. ~Cub,~ he growls, in a voice too high for his mass. He folds his
arms across his massive chest and looks expectant.
The Walker Cub's voice is a deep rumble, seeming to counter the high voice of
Scar as he speaks. ~Elder. You had asked me many questions under the moon
last day. The half moon of my oath has come, and now I must answer them
all, yes?~ His He speaks and stands respectfully enough, but he seems to
draw some courage from the Wendigo nest to him.
Jacinta stands quiet, homid form small compared to most to begin with, almost
laughably tiny compared with these. She does not look at either Fostern,
remaining respectfully in the background.
Scar visibly reins in his impatience. ~There is no _must_. I'm here to decide
what the hell I'm going to do with you, whether or not you're worth the
effort people are putting into you. I have severe doubts, and
Defiant-Storm's report isn't encouraging.~ He tips his head, fixing a
golden eye down on Jacinta. ~What do _you_ say?~
Signe shifts her weight from one foot to the other, remaining quiet and to the
side, merely watching for the moment. She glances Salem's way when her
name is mentioned, but adds nothing.
The Walker Cub stands quietly after Scar addresses him, remaining silent as he
questions Pierces Ice. He does, however, not shy away like the previous
night.
Jacinta steps forward to answer the Elder. "Grandmother needs all the warriors
she can get. This cub has the heart and will to learn, to fight and
protect. He has worked hard under my tutelage. I believe he will one day
be a great asset to Grandmother." That said, she steps back again, gaze
falling on the ground before the black furred crinos.
Signe raises an eyebrow, perhaps surprised by what the Wendigo said. Her
expression then immediately reflects minor irritation. Nontheless, she
remains silent, folding her arms casually across her chest and looking
thoughtful.
Winter's Child peers up at Jacinta from where she's crouched, frosty eyes
squinting from under her dark lashes. The Metis cub remains silent and
unobtrusive.
~And his problem with integrating both parts of his being?~ the Glass Walker
Philodox asks of the Wendigo Ahroun.
Duefully, the Cub remains silent as The Walker Elder questions the Wendigo
Ahroun. He does not interrupt them, remaining without comment as they
speak further.
Jacinta cannot hide a small smile as she speaks. "He keeps the heart of the
wolf. Mind and heart are intertwined. The fear is gone from him. He can
better speak to this, himself." The smile drops away and she clasps her
hands in front of her. "I apologize. I had asked permission only to
teach him the fighting ways. I have overstepped your gift. Please forgive
me."
Scar waves a clawed hand dismissively. ~He can't fight the Wyrm if he's always
fighting himself. Call it all one and leave it at that.~ Arms unfolded
now, he gestures Joshua closer. Within reach, in other words. ~Come here,
cub.~ The Walker Elder's impassive (if less than noble-sounding) voice
and the bristling aura of rage that surrounds him like a cloak isn't
exactly encouraging. But it was clearly a command, not a suggestion.
The Walker Cub, with his arms loosly held at his sides, begins moving the
moment the Elder makes his request, lumbering over steadily Scar.
Stopping in front of the elder, he bows his head again. ~Yes, Rhya?~
Jacinta nods appreciatively, and then stands quietly to watch the proceedings.
Scar takes the cub's muzzle in one massive hand, his claws pricking at the soft
parts near his throat. He tips Joshua's eyes up toward his and studies
them for a moment, silently, before speaking again. His words are
careful, relentless, and deliberate. ~Tonight, you show promise. Other
days, you have shown promise. But many days besides those, you've
backslid. So I still have my doubts.~ There's a terrible but brief pause.
~But. You will have a chance. One. More. Chance.~
Scar tightens his grip -- not enough to break skin or even to stop breath, but
enough that the cub can distinctly feel each of the halfmoon's talons.
~You have, in fact, one month. After a month, Cat of our tribe and
Fire-Dancer of the Get of Fenris will be sent on their Rite of Passage...
and _you_, cub, will go with them.~ He releases Joshua then and glowers.
~The Family needs soldiers. Not children. You have one month to get
ready.~
Granted, the pronouncement would have sounded a lot better had the Walker Elder
not been still under the Jackal's curse, but the nobility of his bearing
and the deadly seriousness of his tone somewhat make up for this lack.
The Walker Cub is jostled around willingly, not resisting the grip of the
Elder. Finally, when the elder releases, he bows his head back down. He
grunts out a bare reply to the pronouncement. ~Yes Rhya. I am aware of
both you and Storm-Singer... and all the other Elders expect of me. I
will ready myself.~
Signe's brow furrows, looking from cub to elder and back, slightly confused.
Scar stiffens visibly, his clawed fingers stiffening. ~What the _hell_ does the
Shadow Lord Elder have to do with this?~
Jacinta, who had begun to relax, tenses again along with the Walker Elder.
Joshua tenses, now not quite sure he said the right think. ~Storm-Singer talked
to me this sunrise. He told me to tell you a great numbere of things...~
The cub carefully turns an eye up to the elder before quickly looking
back down ~But I am hesitant to deliver the messages unless you ask it of
me. They are... not good messages.~
Signe's eyes narrow at the Walker cub's words. she, too, is tense now. Arms at
her sides, fingers clenching and unclenching. She looks displeased.
Jacinta, eyes still downcast, shows only restrained surprise.
Black lips wrinkle up from long, sharp white teeth; a pink tongue licks out
over those horrible flesh-rending weapons as he growls, the sound thin
and raspy. ~Speak,~ Scar commands.
Winter's Child, meanwhile, watches with wide eyes.
~I would rather be culled than have my Wolf stolen by one who speaks with the
voice of a newly born tea-cup poodle with laryngitis.~ The cub recites
duefully, tensing to the point where one might fear he would snap in two.
~You have no business deciding the fate of another Garou. He says I
should live as I owe him my life, and if you pass that judgment on me
than you are no better than Jackal whose voice you bear.~ The cub tries
not to shrink as he reports all this, mouth opens as he tries to keep
cool from the nervous energy. ~There are others, but even with your
request, I do not dare repeat them. They are... uncouth.~
Signe snorts. though her words are meant only for herself, they carry at least
a little, here at the center of the caern. "I think there's a Shadow Lord
out there with a death wish."
Scar grows very still and cold as he listens, and the horrible snarl relaxes
into something less dangerous. He makes a sound of disgust. ~The Shadow
Lord wishes to provoke me into killing you out of rage,~ he says after a
moment. ~Perhaps he knows Sept history.~ His eye travels over to Jacinta
and Signe -- and to the silent, gaunt girl with the blue eyes as well --
and then focuses on Joshua. ~He says to _you_ what he doesn't have the
spine to say to my _face_. What would you call such a one, cub?~
The Cub grunts, unsure of the correct answer. ~He is an Elder, even if he spoke
uncouth. I am a Cub, I cannot call him anything, it is not proper.~ He
hesitates a moment, before adding. ~But if he was a fellow cub, I would
say that he that the cub was honorless... although he says the same of
you. That even though I have no honor, I have twice the honor as him...
which again, he says of you.~
Jacinta remains where she stands, several paces away from the two crinos,
silent and respectful as ever. But her face holds intense curiousity.
Scar's muzzle wrinkles. ~Let me help you with the answer, cub,~ he snerls down
at Joshua. ~You call one like that a _coward_.~ One clawed hand cuts the
air decisively. ~Nevermind. My word still stands. In one month, you go on
your Rite of Passage with Cat and Fire-Dancer. Pierces the Ice says you
have the will to work hard. It is up to you to prove her right.~
~Yes Rhya.~ The Walker Cub intones once more. Another moments hesitation,
before he asks. ~May I speak, Rhya?~
Scar makes a gesture inviting Joshua to speak; anger still seethes around him,
cold and ruthlessly controlled.
~I would ask that no one call me Wrestles-With-Wolves, of anything of that
nature any more.~ The cub requests quietly. ~It is simply an insult to
every Garou's heritage, and implies that one would reject the mother's
gift. It is not... proper.~
Scar nods once, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ~What do you want to be called?~
The cub grunts one more. ~Anything but it.~
Jacinta steps forward, "If I may?"
Brings-Buffalo slips in under cover of camoflauge, watching from near the edge
of the clearing.
Scar glances over and down at Jacinta.
Signe regards the Walker cub with a slightly lifted chin, perhaps impressed
with the request. She regard the Wendigo with curiosity.
Jacinta moves forward to stand close to the cub once again. "He has shown that
he keeps the heart of the wolf. I would call him Wolf Heart. It will
remind him that his life is not two but one, that he must always keep
both mind and heart together."
Scar rolls his shoulders into a shrug. ~As good a name as any.~ He looks down
at the Walker cub. ~Fine. Wolf Heart you are, then.~
The Walker Cub bobs head, before backing carefully away from the Elder a pace.
~That is all, Rhya.~
Scar nods curtly. ~You can shift down, now,~ he says in that grating, raspy
whine he's still burdened with. His tone is a suggestion wrapped around a
command.
Brings-Buffalos ears flatten to his head at the sound of that voice.
Winter's Child digs long fingers into the chilly, rain-softened ground and
licks her lips; her gaze is intently focused on the scene, though she
squats a bit away from it, behind Jacinta.
The Walker Cub does aas the elder commands, spine popping as he shifts down
back onto all four, then shrinking further into Lupus.
Jacinta bows her head, arms open to the sides, and takes three steps backward.
Brings-Buffalo decides to reveal himself, standing and shaking. He stalks
towards Winter's Child, ears back, stopping in front of Jacinta. Is this
how you prepare your cubs for their Rite?
Scar drops down to all fours and reduces himself down to wolf form once his cub
has reached that shape. The Walker shakes himself vigorously as if
attempting to clear his mind and shed the anger that still grips him.
Jacinta is mildly startled to see Brings The Buffalo Home, but her answer comes
readily enough. "Yes."
Winter's Child stiffens as Brings the Buffalo Home approaches her, and then, as
he gets nearer, she sinks lower to the wet ground, her head craning aside
to bare her throat submissively. The gesture is automatic, unthinking.
Brings-Buffalo arches a furry eyebrow at the woman, ignoring the cub for the
time being. I wonder how doing nothing can be considered training.
Wolf-Heart tilts his head slightly, pacing slightly away form the upset
Wendigo. Since it's not his place to say anything, he doesn't. Instead,
he looks to Signe's boots. Storm-Rhya, he chuffs. Does this mean I am
released from my oath?
Signe glances down at the Walker cub, frowning a little. "Which oath?" she
asks, unsure of what he means. The Get is already moving toward the
southern wall of the caern, near the waterfall.
Jacinta makes a sweeping gesture toward Wolf-Heart and his Elder and other
teacher. "Wolf-Heart is also my student. Watching the lessons another
learns can impart a wisdom of their own."
The Walker Cub shakes off some of the drizzle before answering the question:
the one that keeps him from wearing Man-skin, and which binds him to the
Bawn and Caern.
Brings-Buffalo snorts doubtfully. She is your charge. Remember: if she fails,
you fail. And your own cubs should come first.
Scar is starting to head in the same direction as the Get, but pauses to look
between his cub and the Get of Fenris. Something in the interaction makes
him twist an ear backwards in disgruntlement -- a mood that's aimed at
Joshua, not Signe.
Winter's Child slowly straightens up from the awkward-looking, flattened crouch
and twists herself into lupus form. Muddy and wet, the scrawny Metis pads
over to put Jacinta between herself and the Wendigo Elder.
Signe is quick to gesture toward the cub's true elder, Scar. "That'd be mostly
up to him. As far as I'm concerned, if you think you can handle being in
the man without throating everyone who looks at you funny, sure. But
ultimately, it's up to Jack."
Wolf-Heart lowers his head and body the glance of the elder, instinctively
tucking his tail tightly down low against his side. He doesn't look
directly at the Elder, but it's clear that his attention is now turned to
Scar with Signe's comment.
And Jack simply snorts. You'll need to know _all_ your forms in order to
succeed, he tells his cub. But you'll stay around the Bawn. That includes
the ~farmhouse~. If you survive your test, you may choose then to return
and live at our home in the city.
Jacinta tips her head to the side. "All are protectors of the Grandmother. You
asked me to come and bring the ways to this place. I do not neglect the
teaching of Winter's Child." With these words she reaches a hand back to
the cub. "And I will not neglect the teaching of others who ask it."
Wolf-Heart indicates that he hears Scar-Rhya, before falling still again.
Silent, solid and submissive is all the cub is, at the moment.
Brings-Buffalo narrows his eyes. Winter's Child? Who named her that?
Winter's Child bumps her bony lupine head against Jacinta's hand. She's cold,
but at least warmer than the air around her, if not warm _enough_. Tail
lowered close to her wasted haunches, she watches Brings the Buffalo Home
warily.
Signe gives the Walker cub a rare smile. It's thin and rather tense--mostly sue
to the situation and the fattening moon--but it is nonetheless a smile.
Then, the Get heads out of the caern.
Scar spares Wolf Heart another, dour, look, then follows the Get out of the
caern.
Brings-Buffalo eyes the cub. Speak up. Who named you.
Jacinta glances back at the cub in response to Brings-Buffalo's question. "I do
not know. That is the name she told me when I asked. It did not occur to
me to ask who gave it to her."
Wolf-Heart carefully pads his way over to the steam vents, sitting himself
there. While he doesn't face the Wendigo directly, he is facing their
general direction, listening to them idly as he waits patiently.
The Metis cub lowers her head, slinking it down to the level of her jutting
shoulderblades. Her tail remains tucked. Mother said that White
Bison-rhya thought the name, but Mother gave it to me.
Brings-Buffalo keeps an eye on the cub. That was your old life. This is your
new one. He looks the cub over with disdain. You are cold to the touch,
you are scrawy and pale. Your eyes are blue. You look like the cannibal
spirit that forms when men eat men in the starvation winter. You will be
known as Atcen, until you Rite or die.
Winter's Child utters a thin-sounding whine of protest, her ears flattening
back against her skull. She looks up at Jacinta for help.
Brings-Buffalo snarls at this sign of weakness. NO! You fight your own battles,
cub. You don't like the name, you pass your Rite of Passage and get a new
one.
Jacinta's eyes narrow as she steps protectively in front of the cub. Her throat
scrapes over the harsh langauge of the Garou as she speaks. ~You said
that she was mine to teach. My failure should she fail. Then she is mine
to name, and you will show her the respect she will earn. She will not
learn well with your terror on her head. If she is mine, she is mine.~
Brings-Buffalo shifts up into crinos and glares down at Jacinta. ~She is yours
to teach, but she belongs to the Wendigo, and I am elder of that tribe
here. She takes what name she's given until she earns her own, and she
gets respect when she earns respect.~
Wolf-Heart grunts at the display from the Wendigo Elder. He himself remains
still, but a thin tension grips him. A small gesture is made, but no one
is looking his way to see it.
Winter's Child backpedals a few steps, then stops. As Leonard speaks, her
distress shifts to a frowning pensiveness. A moment before Jacinta can
reply to the Crinos'd tribal elder, the cub utters a sharp bark. Fine!
Fine! Then I am Spirit of Cannibals in Winter!
Jacintas eyes drop away, though she does not move from her place or otherwise
back down. The cub's sharp bark startles her, and she coughs on the words
she was about to say. For a second, she closes her mouth, then regains
herself and speaks. ~Then show respect to me, as I am no cub and I am
here at your call. I give respect to you without question, please give me
the same accord.~
Brings-Buffalo nods to Jacinta. ~ You have my respect, and my thanks. I name
all cubs here, I am not just singling her out. Ask Deer-In-Headlights. ~
Wolf-Heart gives a quiet and thin snarl, but in the Caern it very well might
carry. He otherwise does not look at the three, still facing forward
attentively.
Atcen walks her hind legs under her and sits down, looking sullen. If she were
in a form that allowed it, she'd probably be pouting. Frosted eyes glower
in Leonard's direction, though not directly at the other Wendigo Galliard.
Long distance to Brings-Buffalo: Atcen idly wonders how you pronounce this, by
the way.
Brings-Buffalo pages: AT-shen.
Jacinta nods to herself, apparently satisfied. Reverting to English she says,
"I had planned now to continue an earlier lesson. Do you have other
thoughts?"
Brings-Buffalo shakes his massive head, shrinking back down to lupus. I'll just
watch.
Jacinta calls over to the Glass Walker cub. "You were released from your oath?"
Wolf-Heart stands up, briskly trotting over to the Wendigo, accenting that yes,
he had. Although he is still not allowed out of the Bawn. He carries
himself carefully, giving the Wendigo Elder no more than a quick glance.
Brings-Buffalo eyes the other cub as he speaks up.
Jacinta nods. "Assirrtuq. Shift up and take this." She removes the sealskin bag
from around her neck and shoulder and pulls her longknife from it's
sheath in her belt. "Sit and show me what you learned, today. Do not
anger the spirits." The last she says with a wry smile. To Acten she
says, "You watch this time. Be ready to try, next."
Wolf-Heart,for the first time in weeks, shifts up. He gets to crinos when he
delays for a moment, casting an eye back at the Wendigo Elder, before
finishing the shift all the way to Homid. Pale, Scrawny and dirty, the
Homid Cub looks worse for the wear all right. He reaches up to Jacinta,
taking the knife from her hands as he kneels forward on the Caern. Eyes
flick closed, as he touces the flat of the blade against his heart, then
lips, then forehead, finally holding the blade up in a seeming salute to
the moon as he opens his eyes again.. "Joshua Doyle, Keeps the Heart of
the Wolf." he whispers loudly. ~Wolf Heart~
Atcen slowly turns her sullen attention onto Joshua and Jacinta; she watches
the pair intently, her pale eyes narrow and her ears laid back.
While most of her attention is focused on Joshua, the Wendigo Ahroun spares a
glance to her cub. She gestures upward with her hand and says quietly.
"You need practice with the words, too."
Atcen acquiesces, rising to her paws. Her gaunt form stretches upward, then
slowly shrinks, gray fur vanishing into tight, sickly-pallid skin. Back
in homid form, the Metis squats down, sitting on her heels with one hand
against the ground to balance herself. Her expression's no less sullen.
The Walker stops, looking over to the Wendigo Ahroun, eyes cast down. "I...
apoligise, Rhya." He murmurs, grimacing. "I do not recall the words.
Kitusit? Quyana maman. Quyana paba. Yes?" If nothing else, his ability to
reproduce the words faithfully highlights his linguistic skill, but this
was not from a language he knew.
Jacinta nods slowly and says, "Use the words you know. Say ~Who are you?~ say
~Thank the mother. Thank the father.~"
Atcen bites down on her lower lip. Hunkered down, she wraps thin arms around
herself.
Joshua's head matches the Wendigo's nod, grasping the blade in his two hands
again. Again, he starts, The blade to his Chest, then to his lips, to his
head and then the moon, low on the horizon. "Who are you?" He starts,
falling back into his Japanese instead of English. "Joshua Doyle. He who
keeps the heart of the wolf." ~Wolf Heart~
Jacinta's eyebrows lift and lower quickly. "Good. Continue." Her eyes are
intent on the motions he makes.
Joshua places the blade flat before him, taking next the pouch of seal oil. He
repeats the gestures with this, then reaches for the whetstone, finishing
the sequence with that. "Thank the Father, thank the Mother." He intones,
lifting the blade in one hand. He carefully nicks his thumb, rubbing it
along the blade of the knife, leaving blood in it's wake. A drop of oil
is carefully smeared along the cutting edge, before he reaches finally
for the whetstone in front of him, diligently scraping the blade, despite
it's already fine edge. He repeats the earlier gestures he made when he
began, thanking the Mother and Father, then finally raising the knife to
the moon again. "Who are you?" ~Wolf-Heart~.
Reverantly, he hands the blade back to Pierces-Ice with both hands.
Jacinta accepts the blade and places it back in her belt. "Well done, Wolf
Heart." She turns to the Wendigo cub. "Are you ready to try?"
Atcen shifts a sidelong glance toward the watching Wendigo Elder, then, with a
stubborn, jut-lip expression, nods and stands up, tall and thin next to
Jacinta's short, sturdy frame.
Joshua edges back from the Wendigo, still kneeling near them as he allows The
Metis cub room. He rests his hands in his lap, watching attentively.
Jacinta hands the knife and the other materials to Atcen. "See and learn, then
do until the hands know without thought and the heart sees what is true."
Atcen's black brows draw together; she frowns deeply. She flicks a brief,
sidelong glance at Joshua as she takes the knife and other things from
Jacinta, and her pale eyes narrow. With a determined look, she begins to
mimic what she saw the Glass Walker cub do, bringing the blade first to
her flat chest, then to her thin lips, then to her head and then the
moon. In English, slow and halting and careful, she intones, "Who are
you. Atcen." There's a stubborn flash in her eyes as she speaks the name
Leonard gave her. "Spirit of..." She pauses, her vocabulary uncertain,
and finishes in the Mother Tongue. ~...Cannibals in Winter.~
Jacinta watches with quiet attention, smiling approval. Her eyes flick towards
Joshua, to see that he is watching as well.
Joshua's shoulders tense, watching the new cub. His brow furrows, until he
smoothes it out with hand. But the Walker Cub says nothing.
Atcen sets the blade flat before her, as she saw Josh do, and takes up the seal
oil and the whetstone, repeating the motions with each as the other cub
did. "Thank Father," she says slowly. "Thank Mother." The Metis cuts her
thumb, then, and before the wound closes, marks the blade with her blood.
Then oil is applied, then the whetstone. She's never held any of these
items, that much is clear, but her determination to do it _right_ battles
the awkwardness of unfamiliarity. Then, once more she brings the knife to
chest, lips, head, and moon. "Who are you. Atcen." Her chin tips upward.
"Atcen."
With each utterance of the name, there's more and more a sense that the Metis
cub is defiantly making it _hers_.
Jacinta breathes deeply, pleased and relieved. "Very well done." Her gaze
travels to to the Walker cub. "Both of you. Caring for a weapon with
honor and respect is an important beginning. Such a weapon will strike
true and the blade will carry your will into the heart of your enemy."
Joshua nods slowly in agreement, as if the gesture was foreign to him. At the
gaze of the Wendigo, he bows his head, intent on not making eye contact.
Atcen bares yellowish teeth and pink-gray gums in a triumphant grin -- shooting
Joshua a sharp, competitive look in the process.
Jacinta takes her knife and tools and puts them away. "Have you been taught to
fight with weapons?" The question is aimed at both cubs.
Joshua shakes his head slowly. "No, Rhya." He begins, deliberately ignoring the
other cub's glance. "I have not been. I am thinking that I will have to
ask Alicia-Rhya to contact one of my tribe, so I may start learning of my
tribes weapons... if you would allow it, Rhya."
Atcen looks at Jacinta, her teeth vanishing as her grin does. She chews on the
question and Joshua's answer, then just shakes her head no.
Jacinta is taken aback entirely by Joshua's final comment. "It is not for me to
say, Wolf-Heart, if you will learn those things or not. I have been given
leave to teach you, but have no word in what happens beyond that." That
said, and as neither cub has had formal weapons training, Jacinta removes
her sweater and belt, first taking her longknife into her hand. "So. Both
of you. Go, find a stick, thick enough to hold in your hand and as long
as your forearm. When you return we will begin."
Atcen bites her lower lip, mentally translating Jacinta's English into a
language she knows. "Long as what?"
Stick. Right. The Walker Cub shifts down to lupus before he moves an inch,
bounding off into the woods outside the Caern without a seconds
hesitation. He's out there for a while before he comes back, a stick
clenched in his Jaw, tail swishing slightly. This do, Rhya?
Jacinta touches Atcen's elbow with her free hand. She then flips the knife
around so that she holds the blade and runs the antler handle down the
girl's arm to her fingertips. "This long."
Atcen chews on her lower lip and nods, then races off with long-legged, gangly
strides. She returns well after Joshua -- having left later -- with an
appropriately-sized stick in hand. One side of it still drips wet earth.
Jacinta smiles, almost laughing at Joshua's bounding return. "Ii. Stand like
this." She demonstrates with legs apart and knees slightly bent. "Weight
on your back leg, knife, or stick, in your strong hand."
Joshua drops the stick at his feet, shifting down to Homid before following the
elders instructions. He's a bit wobbly at first, almost comical, before
he re-aquianqts himself with the concept of normal human standing.
Atcen is, at least, easier on two legs than Joshua, though she has a habit of
balancing on the balls of her feet. Teeth catching at her lip, she copies
Jacinta's stance, bony fingers gripping her stick tightly.
Jacinta says "When you fight on two legs, you have less balance than four, but
it is easier to change speed or direction. One foot should always be
solidly on the ground." This last is directed to Atcen. "You draw your
power from Grandmother. Keep one foot rooted to her.""
Atcen frowns deeply and shifts her weight, lowering her left heel until it's
firmly on the ground. She's holding the stick in her left hand.
Joshua silently listens, finally having steadied himself. If he wasn't an
attentive student before the meeting with Salem, he definitely was now.
Jacinta moves around to the cubs, checking their stances. Moving up beside
Atcen, she stops and takes hold of her stick.
Atcen responds by tightening her grip, looking at the older Wendigo with a
confused frown.
Jacinta says "Let go." The command is unmistakable, but calm and almost
friendly."
Atcen bites her lower lip and, obediently, releases her 'weapon'.
Jacinta says "Just for a moment."
Jacinta takes the stick and holds it high above her head. "Place your hands by
your side."
Atcen's pale eyes widen as they follow the sticks rise. Teeth biting harder
into her lip, she lowers her hands until they hang, fingers tense and
slightly crooked, at her sides.
Jacinta holds her arm out, the stick above the space between the two Wendigo.
"When it drops, catch it. One hand only." She waits, silently, and then
without another word or motion, drops the stick.
Atcen's left hand immediately shoots out to try to grab the falling stick; she
all but lunges for it.
Jacinta nods. "You are left-handed." She taps the girl's left shoulder. "When
you fight, put this side forward, for now. Put your right foot solidly
against Grandmother's strength."
Atcen just barely managed to catch the stick, having to bend to keep it from
hitting the ground. Now she straightens and, listening to Jacinta, nods
slowly.
Jacinta returns to Josh and pushes down on his shoulders.
Joshua still in the stance he took at Jacinta's request, lets his shoulder be
shoved around like he was some odd posable doll with comment or second
glance.
While Jacinta tends to Josh, Atcen shifts her weight, right foot against the
ground, left foot forward, stick held firmly in her left hand.
Jacinta says "Push against the ground, draw strength fromGrandmother and let it
be drawn up through your spine. When I push down, I should feel
Grandmother pushing back."
Joshua grunts out an agreement of some sort, setting himself to the pressure
from the Wendigo. The youth probably looked rather humorous, standing
there with stick in hand, but it appears no one was going to comment on
it.
Atcen, meanwhile, concentrates on her stance, getting a feel for it and the
weight of her stick. She doesn't seem to feel any self-consciousness
about being armed with a dirty bit of fallen wood.
Jacinta nods, finally satisfied with each. "Assirrtuq. Practice this, tonight.
Practice walking, stopping in fight-stance, and holding. Practice feeling
the strength flow upward, and feeling your foot reaching down. I will
teach the next, tomorrow."
Atcen nods, relaxing out of the fight-stance. "To-morrow," the Metis echoes.
"Yes, Rhya." The Walker Cub intones, bobing his head as he lowers the stick.
Jacinta picks up her belongings. As she does so she says, "As I am to teach
both of you, and neither of you have much time before you will be rited,
I expect you to help each other learn. Take all opportunities to share
your own strengths."
Atcen casts a frowning sidelong look over at Joshua, then gives Jacinta a slow
nod, her head lowered slightly, lashes partially obscuring her pale eyes.
At this the Cub gives the Metis a quick glance, before looking back to the
elder. And he simply does not respond to that one, aside from a short nod
of the head.
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