It is currently 16:48 Pacific Time on Sat Mar 13 2004.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 57 degrees
Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). The wind is calm today. The barometric
pressure reading is 30.19 and falling, and the relative humidity is 48
percent. The dewpoint is 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius.)
Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (50% full).
Two Eagles Bluff(#3332RJ)
To the northeast, the foothills climb upwards into the steep, snow-capped crags
and mountains. Here, the tall summer grasses bend in sporadic waves as
the wind dances on the bluff. The evergreens and aspens give way to an
open field that lends itself to a panoramic and picturesque view to the
south and east. A small stream wends its way unobtrusively through the
eastern edge of the mountain's crags, the scent and sound of trickling
water clear on the hesitant but almost incessant breeze. Wildflowers
litter the green of the grass, coloring them with touches of violet and
bright oranges, yellows and blues. Tucked in along the sloped wall of the
forested foothills to the northeast is a well-worn section of ground.
Atcen is squatting on her heels some distance from the cave. The metis is
deeply absorbed in using a stick to draw crude pictures on a patch of
bare earth. Her brow furrows on concentration, and she chews on her lower
lip.
Holly's heard before she's seen, a hummed song on her lips as she picks her way
down the path that leads to the stream. Seeing Atcen, she brightens a
little, tucking the small backpack she carries further up her shoulder so
she can run the rest of the way back to the bluff. "Hey!"
She stands about five foot five with a thin build, somewhere in the mid teens.
Despite this, pudgy cheeks lend her a cheerful countenance. Her nose has
that wide, fairly flat set common among Native Americans. Likewise, her
eyes bear a small epicanthic fold that gives them an oriental cast. The
eyes themselves are a deep brown, so dark that in certain light they
appear black. Thin brows and thick lips are expressive in an oval face.
Her black hair is cut short and parted to one side in a tomboyish style,
though her high cheekbones and lithe frame are thoroughly feminine. Her
skin's cast is a pretty milked-coffee color, smooth and dramatic.
She wears a pair of khaki colored cargo pants with hiking shoes. A long-sleeved
white blouse is worn under a grey, hooded fleece jacket. Over this is a
jeans jacket with the sleeves cut off, leaving the ends heavily frayed.
Pierces Ice rests easily, out of sight of the mouth of the cave. She's watching
the metis cub with her ears and nose, instead of her eyes.
Atcen looks up from her drawing and smiles a bit at her fellow Wendicub, and
one long arm lifts in a wave. "Hi-i-i," she calls out.
Holly comes to a stop before she runs over Atcen's drawings. Crouching, then
sitting, she drops the pack beside her with a huff. "Rocks again," she
says with mild amusement, opening the bag to take out a couple examples.
these are not like the stones Leonard made them carry, however. The ones
Holly holds are thin, stream-smoothed, and almost perfectly round.
It's difficult to make much sense of the lines that Atcen has drawn. Some
appear to be stick figures, but, alas, an artist she isn't. Her nose
crinkles in puzzlement as she peers at the stones. "Rocks?"
Pierces Ice rises from her hiding place and pads closer to the cubs. She whuffs
a soft greeting as she approaches, before shifting upward to her birth
form. There is a slight grin teasing about the corners of her mouth. "And
are you both close to completing your punishments?"
Holly explains, "Part of the presents I need to make for the spirits." The
stones are set down, and she pulls other things from her bag, including a
variety of feathers, some twine, and a small patch of wisteria.
Holly looks up, catching Jacinta only after she asks the question. "I have what
I need, but it may take me a few days to put it all together."
Atcen bites down a little harder on her lower lip and rubs out some of the
drawings with her hand. "...Maybe."
Jacinta smiles gently and nods. She drops down to her knees, perhaps ten feet
from the others. "Assirrtua. Have you learned?"
Holly looks up from the wisteria she's wrangling into a circle. The word makes
her knit her brows, and she looks from Jacinta to Atcen, wondering which
one of them she's speaking to.
Atcen meets Holly's eyes and shrugs slightly, then looks up at Jacinta. "Not to
disobey elders?" she guesses. "Yes."
Jacinta nods, but seems somewhat disappointed by the response. She turns her
eyes to Holly expectantly.
Holly feels Jacinta's eyes on her, and the feeling prompts her to speak. "I've
learned a lot of things. for instance, there are a lot of ways to look at
the Litany, lots of perspectives to it. But nothing changes how inviolate
it has to be."
Atcen's brow furrows. Frowning, she sits down, butt to the earth, and pokes the
ground with her drawing stick.
Jacinta nods again. "Ii." She shifts around so that she now sits cross legged
and pulls her braid around to her front, untying the leather thong that
binds the end.
Holly watches Jacinta for a little while longer, sparing a slightly concerned
glance for Atcen. Her question is aimed at the elder, though. "How did
you want us to deliver the spirit presents, exactly, Jacinta-rhya?"
Atcen listens quietly as she fiddles with stick and dirt, scratching out
another stick figure. It has a snout and teeth.
Jacinta's hands work at her braid, taking it apart carefully, and running her
fingers through the strands. "When you are finished, you will bring them
to Atcen's performance at the tree of stories. Then, we will carry them
into the Umbra, where you will offer them in appology for your actions."
Holly looks oddly surprised and pleased with this. "How do we do that? Carry
them to the other side?" she asks. "Is it like the clothing? They have to
be ritually bonded with me?"
Atcen adds a smaller stick figure, one with four legs and also a snout and
teeth. It hangs in the air near the first figure's mouth.
Holly turns to watch Atcen draw. Good or not, they make the theurge grin.
Jacinta looks up from her hair to watch the two cubs silently for a while.
"There is a rite. If the spirits accept your appology, they will take
your gifts."
Atcen scratches harsh lines from the bigger figure to the smaller, lines of
violence. She looks up at Jacinta, squinting. "What is going to happen to
Josh-wa?" she asks suddenly.
That makes Holly a little more nervous. She looks over the things she has
gathered, her hand resting on the smooth black river-rock. The other
cub's question gets her attention, and she looks between elder and cub,
curious. "what did he do this time?" she asks.
Jacinta raises an eyebrow at Atcen's question, fingers going still in her hair.
"I do not know." She turns to Holly, answering the question with her best
information. "He has been asked to leave the Walkers of Glass. He does
not like their ways, and they do not wish him among them." She returns
her attention to her hair, freeing it and shaking her head to let it fall
as it will. "I have offered him the opportunity to learn our ways. I do
not know if he will accept."
Holly's mouth hangs open, eyes wide and staring at Jacinta. "Here? you want him
to come here?" she asks, both surprised and apprehensive.
Atcen opens her mouth, then closes it. "He would be like... like the woman
shaman. With the yellow hair?"
Jacinta tips her head to the side in an odd shrug. "If he can learn our ways.
Yes. It would be difficult for him. I do not know if he is able, or if he
wishes. Otherwise, he will be cast out. Ronin. Without tribe unless
another adopts him."
Holly shakes herself out of her shock, putting her newly acquired supplies back
in her bag. She does not look thrilled about this idea, at all.
"Difficult for him, you say," she comments, smirking a little.
"I feel sorry for him," Atcen announces, glancing sidelong at Holly, then back
up at Jacinta. "_Nobody_ likes him. Even the Child of Gaia elder does not
like him."
"What's to like?" Holly asks, and it appears she's not just being snarky. she's
seriously curious.
Jacinta flips her hair over her head and is combing her fingers through it. She
pulls it apart so that she can see Holly. "He is young, and has made many
mistakes. Still, he has a heart that wishes to do well, and an inner fire
that burns to protect Grandmother. These are qualities that I admire."
Holly seems like she's about to argue further, but, something stops her. Her
mouth opens and her brows knit in a scowl, though she decides to say
nothing further. Ducking her head, she simply finishes packing up.
Atcen smirks at Holly's question, then looks down at her drawing. As Jacinta
speaks, she draws a few more lines from the big figure to the little one.
"He is _very_ anger," she notes.
Jacinta pulls her hair into one big ponytail and reties the leather thong. "I
also have great anger. He can learn to control it, as I have done. To use
it when needed and hold it in check at other times."
Atcen nods slowly and then erases her drawing with her hand. "What will happen
to him if he is Ronin?"
Jacinta sighs. "We are not meant to be alone. He is already ripe for Harano.
Without a tribe, I do not expect him to live long."
Holly doesn't say anything to Jacinta's hopes for Josh. The cub gets to her
feet, muttering a quiet excuse about going to work on her presents. If
allowed, she moves toward the cave.
Atcen nods slowly and looks down to poke at the dirt some more -- not drawing,
just poking it and looking brow-furrowed and thoughtful.
As Holly moves off toward the cave, Jacinta rises and comes to look at Atcen's
drawings. "I will return, shortly. Do you have any questions for me? Do
you require any help?"
Atcen looks up and shakes her head, managing a faint smile. "I can do it."
Jacinta smiles down at the cub, a genuine and warm expression. "Assirtuq. I
will return, later."
Atcen nods and returns her attention to her 'work' -- or whatever it is that
requires drawing crude stick figures in the dirt.
Jacinta turns away and heads off down the path.
Atcen chews on her lip as she uses the stick to draw in the dirt, scratching
out more stick figures with snouts and teeth.
Atcen is right where Jacinta left her, drawing in the dirt with a stick.
Several big snouty toothy things are surrounding a smaller toothy thing
on four legs and there are more jagged lines going from the big things to
the small thing.
Jacinta returns after not too long, the lupus-formed Wolf Heart behind her. She
offers a smile to Atcen and then moves to sit not far away. "Joshua
wishes to learn of our Tribe."
Lithe and sleek, here is of a classic display of Canis Lupus Arctos. His thick
coat is a clean gray, near-white of a wolf of the arctic, stretched over
a crisp 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 from months of
lean eating. But he looks well worked, muscle sliding under the coat when
he moves. Four legs connect with the ground, ending in slightly blunted
claws. If you look closely enough at his face, a few light red hairs
might be visible amongst the coat. Erect ears cap his head, and brown
eyes peer out from under this beast's brow with unmistakable intelligence.
Wolf-Heart carries himself silently and nervously. He smells like he's had a
few beers, although if he is intoxicated, it doesn't show.
Atcen sits up, her pale eyes turning toward Wolf-Heart and regarding him
steadily for a moment. She sniffs, nose crinkling at the beer-smell, but
then digs up a little smile for the male Ahroun and looks over at Jacinta.
Jacinta tugs at the end of her ponytail, and gestures for Wolf Heart to sit
near Atcen. "I am not a storyteller, but I can teach. Tell me, first,
where your thoughts lie about your current position?"
Its not horribly unusual for ravens to be in the area and thats just was
Finds-Stories is. A single raven, who takes a perch near the top of a
pine tree at the edge of the Bluff.
Wolf-Heart sits a was removed from between the two, shifting up to Homid. His
clothes look as bad off as Atcens, but he's mostly clean. Swallowing
once, he remains squatted there. "I... I don't like not having a tribe.
It... really gnaws at me." He admits, still rather nervous. "Finds the
Path is right, it is running me into the ground."
Atcen glances over at the raven, frowning at it; she's been wary of the birds
ever since the incident the other evening, when Dana was visiting with
her drum.
Finds-Stories sits on her perch and preens, acting just like a normal raven.
Jacinta nods. "We are creatures of the pack. Alone, we are not whole. What
options do you have?"
Atcen narrows her eyes, still watching the raven. Dropping her drawing-stick,
she gropes around on the ground with her left hand.
Wolf-Heart grimaces a little, missing the Metis and the Raven "Not a whole lot.
The Children of Gaia think I am too harsh... A rat spirit said I should
go to the Bone Gnawers, but... the situation would be the same as it was
with the Glass Walkers. And other than that..." He shrugs minutely. "...
I could stay Tribeless..." And from the way he says it, he doesn't even
consider that an option.
Finds-Stories sits on her perch and shakes out her feathers, then yawns.
Atcen's hand finds a rock, and her fingers close around it. She squats there,
almost perfectly still and not taking her eyes off the raven.
Jacinta watches Atcen out of the corner of her eye, a smirk crossing her mouth
before she speaks again. "And do you come to me, to learn our ways,
because you have no other choice?" Her attention now solely on Joshua,
measuring him by his response.
"Because I want to know more before I make my choice." He answers, finally
noticing Atcen with the rock, but not the bird. "All I know about you is
what K.C. taught me... and she didn't teach me much, aside from the
Glyph, and a few other things..."
Finds-Stories yawns again, not really doing all that much.
With a swift, smooth movement, Atcen pops to her feet and pegs the rock at the
raven, hard.
Jacinta studies Wolf Heart closely, and she waits quite a while before she
speaks again. "From what you know of me, and my cubs, and from what you
have been taught, what do you think, before we teach you, is the heart of
my tribe?"
The metis cub's rock hits the big black bird squarely, knocking it off its
perch and out of the tree.
Joshua wrinkles his nose slightly, setting his hands in his lap. "I was
taught... Something about a bunch of naked savages, er something like
that. I think that was her anyhow..." He shies down slightly, quickly
adding. "Except if I thought that was that, I wouldn't even bother
asking."
Jacinta frowns, her eyes hardening momentarily. "That is not what I asked you.
I asked you, from all of your experience, what do you think is the heart
of my tribe."
Atcen smiles triumphantly, though the expression fades as she looks over at
Joshua. Her nose wrinkles. "Hmph," she says, then starts padding off to
see where the raven landed.
Joshua's nervousness only grows, totally unaware of the bird and the rock at
this point. "I... I would say your traditions?" He hesitantly ventures,
as if unsure if he was right or not.
Finds-Stories is busily picking herself up off the ground, thin broken bones
popping back into place.
Jacinta turns to watch Atcen as she moves off, no smile this time. Turning back
to Josh, she gives a small nod. "We are what our ancestors have made us.
We are what the Wyrmcomers have done to us. We are what Wendigo has left
us." Then she falls silent, and simply watches.
Atcen bares her teeth silently and abruptly lunges at the bird, her body
instantly morphing into the form of her birth as she pounces.
Joshua begins to say something, when Atcen and the Raven finally command his
attention. His brow forms furrows as he tries to figure out what on earth
all the hub-ub is about over there.
The large bird screeches in alarm, then becomes a much larger bird. A tip of a
monstrously huge black beak comes down at the mule's face and eyes. The
beak is attached to a very stange looking bird the size of a man, which
is awkwardly beating its wings and starting to rise off the ground.
Jacinta turns quickly to the commotion and her shouted command is clearly not
to be ignored. "Halt!"
The metis cub has enough time to yelp out a startled cry of, ~Wyrm!~ before the
man-bird's beak slashes blood across her cheek, only narrowly missing her
eye. She aims a reactive slash at the thing just as Jacinta calls out her
command.
Joshua rises slightly from his squat at the sight, but doesn't move to or away
from the Mule and the Now way too big bird. He starts to shift to Crinos
as Jacinta's command reaches him, stopping as near-man.
A large black bird with iridescent feathers that reflect colors of blue and
green. Two black bright eyes look out at the world and rest just above a
powerful beak that is far thicker then that of any crow's. Two feet from
beak to tail feathers and with a wingspan that is just over four feet,
Finds-Stories is undeniably a raven.
The mule's claws are never given the opertunity to strike, as the man-bird
continues to flap its wings, rising out of reach. Its amazing such an
awkward looking thing can fly at all.
Jacinta runs toward her cub, shifting upward as she moves. ~Do no more!~ With
effort, she attempts English words, aimed toward the Corax. "No more."
Atcen snarls angrily but holds her ground, glaring upward at the creature as
blood drips down her face and neck.
In Crinos, Atcen is nearly nine feet tall, and she still looks more starved
than brawny; she's a whip-thin killing machine with a dry, unkempt pelt
of light gray that's stretched tight over bone and muscle and sinew, a
creature without spare flesh or fat. Large hands and hindpaws, both armed
with viciously sharp claws, suggest that she still has more growing to do.
Within her long muzzle are needle-sharp fangs that have an unhealthy yellowish
hue; her claws are the same color. From deep sockets in the lean wolven
head burn pale blue eyes, cold as the frost.
She's winter's own pup -- a gaunt, hungry beast of winter.
Finds-Stories wasted no time in shifting back into raven form once she was out
of reach. Hissing and cawing, as she takes a seat on her orrigional perch.
Joshua knows he's a guest, and seeing how the bird thing (what ever Dakota told
him the Bird shifters where called) was far out of reach, he was content
to stand there ready as near-man and let those who had a clue sort things
out. Besides, Jacinta was coming off pretty clear on this issue. He still
watches carefully, though.
Jacinta holds one hand, palm outward, toward Atcen in a holding gesture, and
looks up at the Raven. "Your people have been friends. But you trick, and
now attack. If you come, you will announce yourself, or we will not be
friends. Our enemies are the same. Do not change that."
Atcen hunkers down, her clawed fists pressed against the ground and her hackles
still bristling. The metis cub is still quite angry, obviously, but she
holds still near Jacinta.
Joshua shifts back down to Homid, letting the people who actually live here do
the talking...
Finds-Stories hops from foot to foot, being very vocal and loud. She doesn't
sound terribly happy.
Jacinta gives a single nod and turns to Atcen. ~Clean your wound and watch her.
If she comes to the ground, give her space to take homid. Don't attack
again, unless I say. We do not need enemies we do not already have, and
we do not need enemies from those who could be our friends.~ Turning her
back on the raven in the tree, she walks back toward Joshua and drops
down into her birth form, again.
Atcen nods to the elder and, slowly, shifts to the dire wolf form. Sitting, she
watches the raven-shifter, licking her face-wound as best she can.
This dire wolf bitch's appearance harkens back to the Ice Age, to a time of
endless ice and snow and famine. Around four feet tall at the shoulder,
Atcen is a whip-thin killing machine with a dry, unkempt pelt of light
gray that's stretched tight over bone and muscle and sinew; she's a
creature without spare flesh or fat. Huge paws, each one armed with
viciously sharp claws, suggest that she still has more growing to do.
Within her long, powerful muzzle are needle-sharp fangs that have an unhealthy
yellowish hue; her claws are the same color. From deep sockets within the
brutish wolven face burn pale blue eyes, cold as the frost.
She's winter's own pup -- a gaunt, hungry beast of winter.
Joshua crosses his arms for a moment, before uncrossing them and holding them
down to his sides. He looks from the bird to the Elder with his head
tilted slightly. "That is..." He starts, before cutting off his own
question.
"Bad dog," The raven eventually squaks out, feathers all standing on end.
Jacinta looks up over her shoulder at the raven. "And bad bird. If you wish to
speak with us, hear our stories, you must be our friend."
Atcen lolls her tongue out at Jacinta's retort.
Joshua just stands there, eyes flicking between the parties involved.
Finds-Stories starts to work on smoothing out her feathers, pointedly ignoring
the Garou.
Jacinta scowls up at the raven, but then turns away and sit down with crossed
legs - back to the tree the raven is in. She gestures to the ground
before her as she asks Josh, "Have you met native people, before your
change?"
Atcen quirks an ear over toward the two Ahrouns but keeps her eyes on the raven.
Joshua slowly sits back down in his squat, hands working their way back into
his lap. He nods his head slightly. "I knew a man who used to come by my
uncle's often. He wasn't from Howe... so I didn't know him personally."
Jacinta studies Josh, waiting for more, for a while. When he doesn't seem to be
saying anything else, she asks, "Did he tell you any of this stories?"
Joshua shakes his head 'no' this time. "He would show up, and then almost
always my Uncle would have to leave with him to do stuff. We rarely
talked... it was usually just hello, goodbye, and where's John?"
Jacinta raises an eyebrow, thoughtful for a moment. "Was your uncle Garou?"
Joshua frowns slightly, looking equally thoughtful. "I dunno." He admits. "I,
uh, haven't talked to him since my family moved out of Howe. And... I
firsted after we moved here."
Jacinta shrugs and gives a slight shake of her head. "No matter." She grabs a
long blade of grass and, tearing it at the base, brings it to her lip.
"What history were you taught of this continent?"
Joshua finally settles down on his butt, knees in close to his chest. "Only
what they teach you at school." He answers, the nervousness finally
edging out of his voice. "And that's it really."
Jacinta says "You were taught that the wonderful white men from Europe came and
taught the savage how to live. You were taught that you brought us great
medicines. You were taught that the whites tamed the world with their
technology. Did I miss anything?"
"Uh..." The Ahroun gets that touch of nervousness back in his voice fast
enough, pulling his legs in a little more tight. "... not really. 'Though
they, uh... never quite put it like that."
Atcen, still in hispo, continues to watch the raven-shifter and listen to
Jacinta and Joshua at the same time.
Jacinta nods. "Of course not. Who wrote the books? Who taught you?" She
stretches, glancing up at the Corax in the tree. "No. History is told by
the ones who win. The white people may have won, but we still have our
spirit, and our stories, and we will not give up. That. That is the heart
of our tribe."
Joshua sits with his legs against his chest, removed a bit from halfway between
Jacinta and Atcen. His attention is mostly on the Elder. The Ahroun nods
slightly in agreement at the first, then to indicate he heard the other
Ahroun as she continues. He seems nervous and content to let her do most
of the talking.
Holly emerges from the cave without her backpack. Her mood is rather subdued as
she makes her way toward the fire. The sight of the Walker stops her in
her tracks, lips pursed and brows knit as she watches him.
Atcen darts a quick look sidelong to rumble a deep-throated greeting to Holly,
and her tail thumps the ground a few times. Then she looks back up at the
raven.
Jacinta's expression grows hard as she continues. "When you think on the
history you were taught, think on this, as well. The history of my people
goes back ten thousand years. Ten thousand years in which the people
lived in harmony with the land, in balance. It has only taken 50 years
for our numbers to be decimated by alcoholism, rotting guts and teeth
from the processed foods they brought, cancers from tobacco and mercury,
lung disease from being forced to live in places we knew to be unclean,
and who knows what other poisons. And this is only what comes when the
whites came and offered us /help/. This does not count the horrors
inflicted on my people by our invading nations. Do you begin to
understand the rage in the hearts of my people, Garou and Human alike?"
Joshua remains markedly silent, suddenly over aware of his scent: the Ahroun
smells like he had more than a few beers earlier in the day. Still, he
listens to Jacinta intently, missing the arrival of Holly. As she
finishes, he nods once more, but it's small gesture.
There's no other word for it. Holly's expression is downright sullen. So
pre-occupied with watching Joshua is she that she misses Atcen's watching
the bird. The theurge cub gives the ahrouns a wide birth in walking over
to her sister-cub. she falls to the ground by Atcen and simply sits.
Atcen is still bleeding where the Corax, in Crinos, had stabbed her face with
its beak. Not that the metis seems to mind the wound overmuch. Turning
aside briefly, she licks Holly's face with a grayish-pink tongue, then
indicates the raven up in the tree. ~It is a shifter,~ she tells the
other cub quietly. ~Pierces the Ice rhya scolded it for spying on us.~
Jacinta's back is to the cave, and she didn't see Holly return. She does hear
Atcen greet the Theurge, though and glances over with a smile. "I am
going to tell the history of our Tribe. You should listen. And you,
Atcen, should pay special note, as you are a storyteller, and will be
called upon to tell the story yourself someday." She looks up at the
raven in the tree, then, and calls up to her in a voice which carries
well, "You, too, are invited to hear our story - If you will come and
introduce yourself, as our friend. Otherwise, there is a large pile of
rocks, and my cubs can both use practice with their aim."
Atcen perks her ears up, then lolls her tongue with amusement.
Holly buries a hand in the fur along the hispo'd Atcen's back. Only at the
licking does she notice the blood, and it makes her blink with surprise.
Still learning the Mother's tongue, she catches only snippets of what the
other cub says, but it's enough that she peers up at the bird, curiously.
Jacinta's greeting and comment draw her attention back to the ahrouns,
nodding about the tale.
Joshua blinks, looking over to the Theurge cub for a moment, before offering
quiet greeting. But he turns to look up at the Corix... looking up at the
Big Raven thing again.
Finds-Stories makes a distictly rude sound, rather like a loud fart. Her neck
feathers flare up around her neck, as she proceeds to throw corvid
insults at Jacinta.
Atcen rears up onto her hind legs, shifting into the near-man form. Bending
down, she takes up another rock and looks over at her elder with a toothy
grin.
Jacinta gives a very subtle shake of her head, but waves the cubs closer,
turning to include Josh in her gesture as well.
Holly pulls away when Atcen shifts form. She offers the raven a glare but does
not ick up a rock. At least not yet.
Atcen doesn't pout, though she does look upward to raspberry the Corax (where'd
she learn _that_?) and, dropping the rock, trots over to join the two
Ahrouns.
The tribeless Ahroun stands up at the gesture, hands wandering behind Josh's
back as he walks over to the other Cliath Ahroun. Nervousness has, for
the moment, been replaced curiosity. He lifts his brow slightly, but
doesn't question Jacinta as he approaches.
Jacinta gets the three younger garou close, and speaks to them in a soft
whisper. "She likes games, tricks. She calls us names and is rude. Do
this. When I say, turn to her and make faces, and call her all the names
you can think. Use English, so she understands. But smile, when you
finish, so she can see that you are being trickster, like her."
Holly also moves to join Jacinta and the others. She spares a wary glance for
the angry raven, but that turns to mischief when Jacinta unveils her
plan. The theurge cub gets ready to do just that, on cue.
Atcen cocks her head at Jacinta as she listens, then nods slowly.
Joshua also cants his head, looking more confused than not. But he indicates
he'll do so anyhow.
Jacinta holds out three fingers, puts one down, then a second. As she puts down
the third and final finger, she turns her face upward to the Corax in the
tree. With her hands, she pulls her face into the oddest shapes she can
manage, and shouts up to the bird, "Forgetter of Lore! Failure of Fliers!
You couldn't catch a worm if it were stuck on a rock!"
Joshua is rather unpracticed at the art of insulting people, so the Cliath
hesitates a moment before trying to do the task. He's not really
creative; on the list is things like "Urrah" and "Boulder Head", and such
zingers as "A cub could beat you up, feathers for brains!" and "You smell
so bad after you eat that even Famori run from the stink." Galliard he is
not.
Atcen, turning, flaps her arms at the Corax and, after making the silliest face
she can manage, yells, "_I_ fly better than you! Crow! Cow-bird!
_Pigeon_!"
Holly spins around to taunt the bird, screwing her face into odd expressions,
using her hands and fingers as well. "Feather-brained loser! Pigeon? Na,
pigeon's are smarter than she is! Dodo!" She starts laughing.
It doesn't matter that Atcen has no idea what a dodo is; she eagerly picks up
the word and echoes it. "Dodo! Dodo! Rocks-for-wings dodo!"
Jacinta falls into peals of laughter and smiles up at the bird. "Are we tricky
enough for you, now?"
Finds-Stories just blinks several times, tilting her head to one side as she
does so.
Joshua pretty much echos the bird in his body language, still rather confused
about what -he- just did.
Atcen, giggling just like a teenage girl -- albeit a hairy, neanderthalish one
-- bends down to lay her head against Holly's. "Dodo," she mumbles.
Somehow, the word strikes the metis has being incredibly funny.
Holly finds Atcen even funier than the situation and breaks out into louder
laughs. She continues the Wendigo cub chant of 'Dodo! Dodo!', and even
begins to spin in an odd little dance to mimic the long dead species of
fowl.
Jacinta controls her laughter, and watches the raven expectantly.
Finds-Stories hops from one foot to another, as she watches the Garou. "Crazy,"
she states, in an exasperated woman's voice.
Joshua looks very much like he wants to agree with the Raven, but glances down
to the two cubs instead. "Uh... Not half as crazy as you... beak for
brains."
Jacinta grins up at the bird. "Only as crazy as you made us." She pulls at her
lips with hooked fingers, sticking her tongue out and making another
face. "Are you going to come down, now?"
Atcen giggles again and hops a few steps after Holly, copying her dodo-dance
and flapping her arms. She utters several loud, raven-like cries -- and
she's not a bad mimic, actually.
Holly laughs at Josh, and dances in a circle around Atcen, who in turn is
circling her. She looks up at the Raven, adding her own enticement to
Jacinta's. "Yeah, come on down and listen to the story with us."
The raven slowly resolves into a small woman, who clings to her perch, as it
bends somehwat dangerously under her weight. "No, I am not coming down,
you bunch of lunatics," the woman snaps, rather angrily. "I came here and
made friends with Leonard. I did favours for him and hunted with him. I
cam back when he wasn't here and tried to introduce myself as a friend,
but he hadn't told you anything of me. You demanded proof of my
friendship, while acting as if you would attack me," the woman glares
pointedly at Atcen. "I left, before you could. I come back when the moon
is smaller and you throw rocks at me, breaking my bones. /Then/, your try
an attack me. If you think I'm going to come down there so you can attack
me again, you're out of your fuzzy little minds."
Atcen's smile fades. The Galliard cub opens her mouth to retort, then shuts it
abruptly and looks at Jacinta.
Joshua grasp his hands tightly behind his back as the Now woman tells at them
from the tree. He glances at Jacinta as the accusations fly, before
skeptically craning his head back up to the Shifter.
Jacinta shakes her head at the corax, sadly. Before she responds to the woman,
she gives a warning glance to each of the others, particularly pointedly
to Atcen. "I will not attempt to explain our actions. I will only
appologize for your pain. You know our nature. You know what we fight. If
you will give us a chance to earn your trust, it may be that we can be
friends. We have started badly, but I can no more turn back time than you
can fly through stone. Please, accept my appology, for any pain you have
suffered."
Atcen, scowling, pushes her hands into the pockets of her jeans and, shoulders
hunched, glares at the ground.
Holly just looks disappointed and sad. She decides to sit down, cross her legs,
and wait.
Finds-Stories shakes her head. "You, you, have a split tongue. You go from
threats and accusations, to kind words and apology. From demanding that I
prove myself a friend, to saying that you will attempt to earn my
frindship. You're all nuts. Every single last one of you." The bird-woman
doesn't wait for a reply this time, as she shifts back into her Raven
formand flies away.
Atcen looks up and yells after the Corax, pointed canines flashing in anger.
"Not come back then! Stupid BIRD!"
Jacinta shrugs, but there is a definite sadness in her carriage, now. "Perhaps,
someday, we may get another chance. Perhaps not." She shrugs again, and
looks at Atcen. "No more throwing rocks at birds. Not for now. Make
faces. Invite them to come tell you who they are. If it's her, maybe
she'll come. If it's not, no harm is done. I don't like strangers hearing
our stories, but raven has always been our friend, in the past."
Holly watches the raven fly off, expression slightly ambiguous. Once out of
sight, though, she turns her attention back to Jacinta, and Atcen, and
Josh as well.
Joshua isn't too broken up about the insult, looking back to the Wendigo Elder
and the others as the Raven flies off. As the other bit doesn't really
apply to him, he only nods as she talks in to show he is still listening.
Atcen utters a low 'hrmph' of displeasure but nods to the elder. "No rocks,"
she agrees.
Jacinta grins. "But if she pecks at you, again, eat her heart."
At that, Atcen looks over at Jacinta and, after a moment, grins back, showing
many teeth.
Holly looks sidelong at Atcen, smirking with amusement at her reaction. She
shakes her head, mostly looking at the ground after that, although she
will on occasion dart a glance toward the white boy.
Joshua makes his way back to where he sat before hand, but meeting the ground
again as he draws his legs up against his chest. He still hasn't said
anything since the insults to the Corax, watching the two cubs with half
laden interest, most of his attention elsewhere.
Jacinta pulls the thong out of her hair, releasing her ponytail. "I must go.
Joshua, perhaps Holly and Atcen can teach you something of our ways. When
I return, I will tell you the story I promised."
Atcen nods to the elder, then walks over and squats down near Joshua, sitting
on her heels with her knuckles against the ground. "I know a story," she
says. "White Bison told me it."
Holly looks quickly between Atcen and Josh. She does not speak up, but her
brows knit again, concerned.
Joshua looks up from the dirt, regarding the Metis for a moment. The Cliath
nods after a moment. "I would listen." He states simply, scooting back so
his isn't all scrunched up.
Atcen looks sidelong at Holly and gives her tribesister a bit of a smile, then
starts talking, addressing both of them. "Long time ago it was spring,
and there was a wolf who had three cubs. But a late frost came and the
oldest cub said, 'Mother, I do not like the cold. Can I go some place
where it is warm?' And the wolf said, 'Yes. Go south and then to the
sunset. It is always sun-warm there. You are smart and you are good at
speaking to spirits. You dream true. You will see the traps that Wyrm
makes.'" She squints a bit, trying to remember the words exactly. "'I
give you... the paint-lands where there are dunes and canyons and your
pups will be great shamans.'"
Atcen continues, "So, Elder Brother said thank-you and he left, going south and
then to the sunset."
Joshua firmly settles against the ground, intently listening to the Galliard
cub. Every now and then he nods to indicate he still listens.
Holly listens, Atcen's story eliciting a soft, nostalgic smile from the theurge
Wendigo cub. Obviously, a version of this--maybe not exactly, but enough
for her understand--has been told to her before.
Atcen wipes at the still-bloody cut on her cheek and then wipes her hand off on
her jeans. "More days and days, and one day the wolf had no milk. And the
second cub said, 'Mother, I do not like the hunger. Can I go to where
there is always drink from the land?' And the wolf said, 'Yes. Go to the
sunrise and to where you smell water. You will live by where the land
meets the... the _sea_ and by river and lake and stream. You have strong
heart and you know justice and honor. You will see through the _bad_
needs that the Wyrm brings. The Eater-of-Souls.'" The Metis frowns. "I
forgot that part. Elder Brother sees through traps of the _Defiler_. Um.
Any-way. The wolf said, 'I give you the good lands of wood and lake and
your pups will be great leaders.'"
"So, then," the metis says, "Middle Brother said thank-you and _he_ left, going
to the sunrise and the smell of water."
Atcen licks her lips and looks mostly at Joshua now. "More days and days and
then spring was over and summer was over and it was winter. The last cub
didn't care. And the wolf said to him, 'Since you are not afraid of the
dark and the cold, you will stay here, where the stars are ice. You will
stay here in the north. You are _fierce_," she says, grinning toothily.
"You have great anger and... and _fury_, and you are brave. You will win
in the fights that the Wyrm... the Beast-of-War... that he brings. I give
you the lands of ice that do not end and the lands of grass, too. Your
pups will be great warriors.'"
Joshua slowly rubs under his eye with his knuckles, still nodding slowly as the
Cub retells the story. Even though he looks tired, his attention is
entirely focused on Atcen.
Atcen continues to grin. "And then Little Brother said thank-you. He knew that
the wolf-mother would have a place for him. So... as the wolf-mother
said, the Three Brothers had different territories and their pups were
wise shamans, leaders with honor, and fierce warriors. And when they all
worked together, the Wyrm could not stand against them." She ends with a
nod.
Holly supplies, "Uktena, Croatan, and Wendigo." She smiles at Atcen, nodding in
return and clapping at the young galliard.
Joshua furrows his brow slightly, adjusting his sit on the ground again. "All
from memory?" He asks simply, looking over the Metis slightly differently
than what he usually favored her with.
Atcen grins broadly at Holly and nods energetically. Then she pokes the Theurge
with a finger and says, "_Turtle_," in a complimentary kind of way before
turning back to Joshua. She nods again, though seems puzzled by the
question. "Yes, from memory." As if how could there be another way?
Holly practically blushes at Atcen's poke. "Somehow, I don't think Middle
Brother had anything to do with naming me," she murmurs.
Joshua's brow lifts, giving Atcen a rare 'who would have thought' look overs
before he nods. "Thanks." He attempts, trying not to but into the
conversation the two others had started.
"Yes," Atcen tells Holly, "but I do not think you are _slow_ anymore. I think
you are just Turtle, not slow-as." Then she turns back to Joshua and
tells him, quite solemnly, "Middle Brother is gone now. They all gave
themselves to stop the Eater-of-Souls from coming to Gaia. _All_ of them
at once, gone."
Holly enthusiastically adds to Atcen's explanation, looking at Joshua as she
does so, "Middle Brother, Croatan, followed Turtle. He was their Totem
spirit." Somehow, in the excitement of spreading knowledge, Holly seems
to have forgotten how much she fears or dislikes the white ahroun.
"Oh?" Joshua leans forward slightly, Ahroun planting his elbows on his knees,
head on his hands. "Really? And... uh, how did they do this?" There is
definitely a note of interest there.
Atcen bites on her lower lip. "Um. It was a ritual, I think. White Bison did
not tell me... I think maybe she didn't know _exactly_. Nobody knows
_exactly_ anymore. But when it happened they all went gone at once, cubs
to elders, and their Totem too."
Joshua rubs his chin thoughtfully with one hand, before straitening back up. "I
suppose that it is better then what happened to the Dancers..." He muses
with a slight frown. The Ahroun remembers where he was after a moment,
looking back to Atcen. "Thank you, then." He repeats.
Jacinta comes up from around behind the cave. She moves slowly, quietly, and
listens to the youths before she comes into view.
Atcen grins broadly at the Ahroun. "You are welcome," she responds, remembering
the polite thing to say.
Holly actually manages a smile at Josh's politeness, but the theurge is not
that easily won over, and it fades to thoughtfulness eventually. Her eyes
seem to study him, their inconstant but persistent looks no doubt
becoming annoying--or at least tiring.
Joshua doesn't take long to catch on to the fact that he's being studied by the
Theurge. The Ahroun turns his regard to Turtle for a moment, face utterly
blank aside from that tired look that's been his constant. Finally, he
clears his throat once. "Yes?" He asks simply, tone as even as his face.
Joshua looks like someone who just got out of some sort of boot camp, despite
his mid-late teens age. He stands about 5' 8", his frame covered by a
layer of muscle visible under his skin from obsessive training. He lacks
almost any fat, lean from months of slim eating. His skin seems stretched
over his frame, pale and of clear northern European descent. His face is
cold and lined, no real defining features present: dull brown eyes, thin
lips, a smaller nose. His head is covered in short red stubble, near crew
cut lending to the "In the Army now" look. The Ahroun has a near constant
disheveled, almost feral quality about him in spite of how clean he keeps
himself.
Bruises and cuts are scattered across his frame; one could deduce that he gets
in more than his fair share of scrapes. Currently, Joshua is wearing a
black t-shirt tucked into a clean pair of blue jeans. Looped through the
jeans is a simple brown belt, off of which hangs currently nothing. His
feet are clad in a pair of shin high muddy hiking boots, the pair broken
in from overuse. Not particularly attractive, he stands out only in the
blandest sort of way.
Atcen looks from Joshua to Holly and back again, her head cocked in a rather
canine kind of way.
Holly's answer is as even as the ahroun's. "Yes, what?" she asks, failing to
look perplexed, but not failing to sound sincere.
Jacinta now approaches the trio, an armload of thin sticks carried easily
against her chest. "She's wondering whether you're worthy."
Joshua looks over to Jacinta, sitting up even more strait. "I am Garou, even if
I am tribeless." He replies, his voice no where as confident as his words.
"Being garou doesn't automatically make you worthy," holly says quietly, but
with the sharpness of conviction. Immediately, she frowns, irritation in
her eyes for speaking so much of her opinion so quickly.
"Many Garou," Atcen points out, almost amiably. "Not all of them Wendigo. Or
_worthy_ of Wendigo." She, at least, seems to have forgotten ever being
angry at Joshua.
Jacinta places the bundle of sticks between them, and sits to the right of
Josh. "As they said. There is more to being worthy of my tribe than being
Garou. I see that Atcen has been telling you stories of our past. Are you
beginning to understand us?"
"As opposed to not even being a true garou yet." But the retort is lost to his
own mumbling and Jacinta's reply. Instead, the Ahroun scoots back a
little, nodding slightly to Jacinta's question.
Some of Atcen's smile fades, nonetheless; she rolls her eyes a bit and looks
sidelong at her sister-cub with a shrug.
It really is amazing how the two Wendigo cubs are forming a silent language all
their own. Holly gets only the smallest look at Atcen's expression and
seems to know exactly what she means. It makes the theurge snort out a
giggle or two before she collects herself. The process is hurried along
as Jacinta joins them. clearing her throat, she looks on, attentive, but
quiet.
Jacinta frowns slightly at Josh's retort, but just gives a small shake of her
head before she continues. "What three words would you use to touch the
heart of Wendigo?" Her question is aimed at Josh, but her eyes travel to
each of the cubs, as well, as though expecting that they will also have
an answer ready.
Kills-Wisely comes in from the foothills, skulking low through the grass more
out of habit then any active practice of stealth or hunting. As he sees
those gathered already in the bluff, he offers a strong chuffing bark to
announce himself as he closes in.
Atcen sits up a bit at the lupine sound and turns to look over at the new
arrival. She squints a bit -- still uncertain of the male who until
recently was a cub himself and who associated so closely with Leonard --
and then waves at him.
Joshua's brow forms some ditches as the Ahroun tries to puzzle his way through
the question. He grimaces slightly, shaking his head. "I don't know." He
admits, before his attention is drawn off for a moment by the newly
arriving Ahroun.
Holly glances over her shoulder at hearing the other Wendigo's approach. She
knows him only in passing, and like Atcen, makes no greeting beyond a
little wave. Looking back, she seems to have an answer of her own for
Jacinta.
Jacinta puts a hand out, palm down, toward Josh, and rises smoothly, wary gaze
toward the newcomer. Her caution is ameliorated by Atcen's show of
recognition. "I am Jacinta Aketachunak, Warrior, Elder of the Wendigo.
Who are you?"
Atcen licks her hand and presses it gingerly against the wound on her cheek,
then stretches out in wolf form, leaning against Holly.
Kills-Wisely offers in growling tones as he first barks acknoledgement to
Atcen, then looks to Josh and finally Jacinta. I am no Galliard, but...
~Spirit, Duty, and Loyalty.~ With this, he sits besides the new elder and
looks to Josh for his answer.
Holly's hand moves to Atcen's back almost instinctually when she takes the wolf
form, the girl-cub scratching and petting the wolf-cub's pelt.
Kills-Wisely looks up actually to Jacinta instead and sitting up proudly he
offers his introduction. ~I am the brother Darkfeather. Cliath and
warrior moon of the Wendigo, student of the warriors Lightfeather and
Brings-The-Buffalo-Home. I am called Kills-Wisely of the Wendigo, and
without brothers and sisters to call my pack, I hunt for such people who
would wage war on the enemy in our people's way.~
Atcen's ears quirk at the unknown name 'Lightfeather', but otherwise the
Galliard cub seems only mildly interested in Kills-Wisely's introduction.
Joshua looks over the unfamiliar form as the introduction is given, the Ahroun
turning from Jacinta to Kills-Wisely. "Keeps the Human Mind with the
Heart of the Wolf. Full Moon of the Mother. Keeps the Wolf would work
too." His introduction is short, to the point, and missing a few details.
Kills-Wisely pages to the room: For those that would know of the Okanagon
tribes that count among their members some Wendigo, Lightfeather was a
decently renowned warrior, well known enough for this area of the states
at least.
Holly listens to Kills' introduction, studying him with as much curiosity as
she studied Joshua earlier.
Jacinta nods once, sharply. "You are the one Leonard asked me to train, before
these young ones came. Apparently you did not need by teachings before
your rite. Perhaps you can help me train them." She turns back to Joshua.
"Kills Wisely says Spirit, Duty, Loyalty. What do you say?"
Atcen yawns, a long grayish-pink tongue curling out of her pointed muzzle, and
puts her narrow head down on her oversized paws. Though her ears remain
active for some time, her eyes close.
Kills-Wisely huffs in answer to Jacinta, neither a positive or negative
offering. He does however seem to scruitinze the two cubs with his eyes
now, some thought or two being considered.
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