"..."

[hazlogs]

It is currently 21:37 Pacific Time on Thu Feb 26 2004.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Half Moon phase (43% full).
Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 47 degrees
      Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the 
      south at 6 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 29.60 and rising, and 
      the relative humidity is 83 percent. The dewpoint is 42 degrees 
      Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius.)

In the Swirling Wind
The rugged walls of the canyon grow narrower to the northeast, forcing the
      gusts of winds that it catches to rush down into this small clearing. 
      Here the breezes meet with the drifting mists off the waterfall's spray, 
      becoming swirling bits of haze that dance and whirl like merry ghosts. 
      Occasionally, the canyon's rim pushes swifter air into the caern, 
      breaking up the dance and sending the mists, scattered, back to their 
      source.
The old growth forest surrounding the caern has been hewn down out to 150',
      leaving only stumps as tombstones for the mighty trees that once 
      sheltered the caern. The ground has a light covering of grasses and weeds 
      and wildflowers and occasional sapling trees, but nothing larger than 
      that.
Swirling in the area is some of the mist sprayed up by the waterfall to the
      south. To the west, a rock slab juts out of the ground at an angle. the 
      caern's center is to the southwest; the rest of the valley extends 
      northeast, toward the mountains.

At the center, Signe looks the Wendigo over, still frowning. "I've seen you
      teach the cubs some fighting, but I haven't actually seen you throw down 
      yet. But, /that's/ not what I was talking about. It was more of a...you 
      know." she gestures with her hand, vaguely. "Your tribe's never been a 
      fan of the city, and you just said you'd never dealt with one of these 
      things before. What makes you gung-ho now?"
At the center, Wolf-Heart, for now, just watches and listens.
Atcen descends into the caern on silent bare feet, wearing her Glabro body and
      the usual much-worn jeans and t-shirt. She pauses in the place of wind, 
      letting the constant breezes tug and fight over her short-cropped hair.
At the center, Jacinta straightens, spine stiffening with tribal pride. ~Combat
      the Wyrm wherever it dwells, whenever it breeds.~ Her throat seems almost 
      comfortable with the gutteral sounds of the Mother Tongue, but she 
      continues in English. "I am not a /fan/ of cities. I was raised in a 
      small village and have since spent very little time within their bounds, 
      but I recognize that my duty crosses barriers such as this, and is not 
      bounded by a ring of trees. I have learned to walk the streets of 
      Fairbanks without seeming out of place, and even navigated Anchorage and 
      your own St. Claire on my way here. Would I be happier were the cities 
      fewer, smaller, less of a burden to Grandmother? Yes. But I do not hide 
      from them. My duty will not allow it."
Atcen's attention sharpens as Jacinta speaks, and slowly the metis cub pads
      closer, circling well around Signe and, it seems, ignoring Joshua 
      entirely.

You head into the center and heart of the caern.
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.
Contents:
Jacinta
Signe
Wolf-Heart
Obvious exits:
Rock Slab  Windy Spot  WaterFall  Steam Vents  

Signe listens to the Wendigo's speech, her doubtful wariness melting tino a
      ferally amused grin as Jacinta finishes. "As long as that's how you feel, 
      and you can keep from getting run over by rush hour cab driver's, it's 
      fine with me if you want to tag along."
Wolf-Heart acents a small, general agreement with what Jacinta said, but it is
      probably lost to the noise of the rain. The Ahroun quickly traces out 
      another glyph in the mud, before removing it with his whole hand. For the 
      most part he seems dead set on ignoring Atcen.
Jacinta spares a fleeting glance and smile for her cub as she nears, though her
      attention is riveted to Signe. "I do. I can. Quyana." Each statement is 
      accompanied by a slight bob of her head. "When the time is right, I will 
      be certain that you can find me without difficulty." She seems done, but 
      her eyes fall to Atcen and she opens her mouth to speak again. "I wished 
      to ask a question, if I may?"
Atcen remains silent, even after she's taken her place near Jacinta, her arms
      behind her back and her fingers entwined like knotty snakes. She shifts 
      her weight a bit, then lifts one foot and grasps it behind her and 
      balances there like a stork or a crane.
Signe's attention's been on Jacinta, but Atcen's arrival did not go unnoticed
      by the Get. Now that the matter is settled amongst the two elders, she 
      glances from Josh to Atcen, silently, eventually turning to watch Josh 
      alone.
Wolf-Heart keeps his focus on the two elders, not giving the Wendigo Cub even a
      moment of regard, despite the eyes on him.
Jacinta says "Skadi's Defiant Storm-rhya, I watched as you performed the Rite
      of Wounding at the moot. It is a Rite I have long wished to learn. Would 
      it be something you would be willing to teach?"
Signe seems about to speak to Josh when the Wendigo addresses her. Glancing
      back, her surprise is quickly erased. "I could do that," she answers with 
      a nod. "But not right away. I'm in the process of learning a rite from 
      Salem. When I have that down, I could teach it to you."
Atcen sneaks a sidelong glance over toward Wolf-Heart, her pale eyes narrowing.
      Then she looks away, at Signe and Jacinta. She also switches feet, 
      balancing now on the right instead of the left.
"Quyana," the Wendigo says with a bow. Then she steps back and gestures to her
      cub as she moves toward the rocky area, out of the way.
Wolf-Heart isn't even looking at Atcen to catch the glance, and even if he did
      there probably wouldn't be a reaction. The Crinos just sits there, 
      crouched slightly.
Atcen resumes a two-footed stance and obediently trots after Jacinta.

At the Rock Outcropping
The caern flattens out here, a more stable and solid area than around the steam
      vents or even the caern's center. Scrub grass and weeds eke out an 
      existence between the rocks on the ground. A rock outcropping, jutting 
      out of the ground at a slight angle, ends up only about a foot above the 
      ground. With its slight rise reaching generally towards the center, the 
      rock slab seems to form a natural dais, a platform just a little above 
      the level of the rest of the caern. The rock has been chipped and 
      scratched by events in the recent past, and extreme scrutiny might reveal 
      faded stains that don't look entirely natural.
The old growth forest surrounding the caern has been hewn down out to 150',
      leaving only stumps as tombstones for the mighty trees that once 
      sheltered the caern. The ground has a light covering of grasses and weeds 
      and wildflowers and occasional sapling trees, but nothing larger than 
      that.
The caern circles away from the walls east, towards the swirling area, and
      south, towards the steam vents; the center is southeast of here. A 
      dangerously slippery, muddy trail winds up towards the rim of the caern 
      from here. One false step could result in tragedy.
Contents:
Jacinta
Obvious exits:
Windy Spot  Center  Steam Vents  Up the Trail  

At the center, Signe watches the two Wendigo move off, expression thoughtful.
      She glances then at the crinos Walker, frown deepening again. "Josh, you 
      still healing or something?"
At the center, Wolf-Heart finally does afford the mule a quick glance before
      looking back to the Get. ~No, I am not.~ He replies low; he states this 
      as if it was a bad thing.
At the center, Signe acknowledges with a slow nod, and then asks, "then why you
      standing around in the mud wearing the form of war?"
At the center, Wolf-Heart glances once more in the direction the two Wendigo
      took off, before shifting his jaw slightly. ~Because I cannot draw in 
      Lupus or Hispo, and it is cold... and also in case I am wrong about not 
      healing anymore.~ He keeps his tone as low as he can and still be heard 
      to the Fostern clearly.
At the center, Signe crouches down to the muddy litte spot Josh's been drawing
      in. "Ah," she says quietly. "You know, there really /are/ rituals like 
      the ones you were talking about. They don't generally involve the death 
      glyph, though."

Long distance to the Caern: Atcen hrfs at lackofSky and decides that Jacinta
      took me out of the caern. And then logs off for some late-night grocery 
      shopping. :}