But you're _back_, thank plague and fire, and _who did this to you_?!

[hazlogs]

It is currently 21:03 Pacific Time on Sat Apr 10 2004.

Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly cloudy. The temperature is 69 degrees
      Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the 
      northeast at 8 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.04 and falling, 
      and the relative humidity is 36 percent. The dewpoint is 41 degrees 
      Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius.)

Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous Moon phase (60% full).

Zoo - Main Building

The doors to this squat, ugly, single-story, 3,000 square foot cinder block
      building were stolen long ago. The main doorway has been replaced with 
      thick piece of plywood, warped by weather, time, and decorated with the 
      spray painted words "Rat's Home". The plywood covering really doesn't fit 
      the doorway all that well and one can wriggle past fairly easily, to gain 
      entrance to the building.

The entire place is dark, devoid of water and electricity. All the toilets have
      been stolen, leaving the building's two bathrooms little more then sad 
      stall-filled rooms, which are surprisingly popular with the local rodent 
      population. All in all, there are about ten offices and what used to be a 
      lunch room within the giant cinder block. Some of the rooms have been 
      blocked off with hanging blankets, while other remain open and show a 
      varying assortment of old mattresses, blankets, and seemingly useless 
      junk. The whole place smells of musty, rotting cloth, and unwashed 
      bodies. The only saving graces to this place are the building's roof, 
      which doesn't seem to leak, the windows in the outer rooms, which save 
      the building from being pitch black inside rather than just dark, and the 
      privacy from the outside, fenced off city.

Wolf-Heart tries to sniff, but with his throat missing, he can't exactly even
      manage that. Wolf-Heart must go, he tells Olga. Must return to journey; 
      it is important. Must go now. Does Fat-Ripper have long fake skin for man 
      that covers the neck?

Eve pages: Eve is propped up against the wall, gauze bandages holding in her
      gut. While the Gnawer looks different from what Cornpop remembers, her 
      scent remains the same.

Eve continues to rest against the wall, allowing her eyes to drop closed again.

A near-bald rodent -- small for a rat, though bigger than a mouse -- scuttles
      in, keeping to the shadows. She stops short and rises onto her hind legs, 
      sniffing the air urgently.

Olga watches Joshua during his request, and there's not a little exasperation
      in her voice when she rips off her headkerchief and finally says, "Here. 
      Wrap it around your neck; it'll look queer but it'll do." She throws the 
      greasy cloth through the bars and returns to looking after Squeaks.

Wolf-Heart bends over and picks up the handkerchief in his mouth, carrying it
      slowly back over to his spot. He isn't aware of the rodent, sans his 
      ability to move air through his nose and therefore smell. The Ahroun 
      shifts up to Homid in all his blood stained and soaked glory, wrapping 
      the gauze he dropped around his neck over and over again.

Cornpop drops back to all fours and races at top speed across the floor toward
      Eve, uttering loud and upset squeaking noises.

Eve continues to rest with her eyes closed, but the squeaking catches her
      attention. "Well, hello there," she murmurs, then issues a series of her 
      own soft squeaks. Mimicking the rat, only, its if she was actually 
      speaking the rodents language. 'Its been a long time, Cornpop.'

Cornpop jumps up onto Eve's leg and scrambles up toward the place that's been
      all bandaged up, squeaking and chittering all the while. 'You... you you, 
      you _silly_ dog, you! But you're _back_, thank plague and fire, and _who 
      did this to you?!' She sniffs at the edge of the bandages, whiskers 
      twitching.

Joshua's eyes flick over to the two of them, gauze going around and around
      again. He gives her one of those "Yep, she's lost it" looks before he 
      ties off the last of the gauze, before putting the 'kerchief around his 
      neck. It mostly hides the damage... but it does make him look like some 
      sort of young fashion consultant.

Eve lifts up her mangaled hand and wipes off the worst of the blood, before
      stroking the rat's back. 'The guy with the hole in his throat,' she 
      chitters. 'Was in the city, covered in blood. Mistook me for a warper, 
      when I used a gift.'

Cornpop turns and lifts up to sniff the air in Joshua's direction. As she
      settles back down, she blinks rapidly. 'I know him. He hates the Weaver 
      wolves. Offered him guidance from Rat, and he rejected it.' She bares 
      long yellow teeth, grinding them noisily.

Eve sighs and tries the rub the small rat's ears. 'Don't worry.'

Cornpop settles down, though she continues staring at Joshua for a few moments
      longer.

Joshua starts off out of the Main office at his walking pace; one could almost
      pretend he wasn't such a wreck. He pauses by the door and nods his head 
      tightly, making some more airy noises as speaking fails to happen.

Eve swallows and switches back to talking normally. "All covered in blood, with
      Craig's knife. I though he might have been one of the gang members that 
      killed him." She informs the rat.

Cornpop grinds her long teeth together as the Ahroun exits, then turns back to
      Eve and starts nosing around her bandages again. 'Don't like him, that 
      one. Thought he might be a good egg, but he's been out in the woods 
      forever and now I don't know. I don't trust him. And _look_ what he 
      did...' She blinks wetly. 'Why does he have your mate's weapon?'

Eve says "Craig gave it to him, aparently, before he died."

Joshua shakes his head the comments, then frowns on down at the Rat as he
      suddenly realizes, in a great 'duh' moment, Eve was not talking to him. 
      He gestures crudely at the Rat, but the intent is hard to miss. 'what the 
      heck?'

Cornpop makes an irritable 'tch-tch' noise. 'Should have saved it for his
      daughter. Feh. _Males_. Here, you, stay still.' She nibbles at the edge 
      of the gauze, tugging it away from the wound, then places her forepaws 
      against the mangled flesh and concentrates. The Gnawer's healing 
      accelerates for a few seconds, and the worst of the damage disappears.

Eve sighs in relief. 'Thankyou friend,' she squeaks, then looks up at Josh as
      she stands. Offering to pick up Cornpop, or leave her on the ground as 
      she chooses.

Cornpop lets the Bone Gnawer pick her up and busily grooms blood from her
      whiskers and forepaws.

Joshua gestures crudely at the Rat again before giving up with a shrug. He
      gives the bone gnawer a quick, jaunty two finger salute before starting 
      out of the main office again, intent on the street.

Eve makes a face. "Oh no you don't. We have some water and clothes. You're not
      walking out of here, without cleaning up first."

Cornpop says something in rat-speech about the 'stupid rabid male' not walking
      out of anywhere at _all_, but of course only Eve understands her hostile 
      remark.

Joshua stops, making anther airy noise that should be an exasperated sigh. He
      pulls the knife out, gesturing with to fingers to the blade. He then 
      takes a single step off to the side in a real life game of charades. He 
      then points north, shaking his hand a few times to emphasize the point.

Joshua pages to the room: Gesturing with two fingers to the blade...

Eve sighs. "Just clean up before you walk out of here, okay? Thats all I'm
      asking for."

Joshua rolls his eyes in true teenager style, shoving the knife back into the
      sheath again. He crosses his arms, lifting his brow questioningly.

Cornpop climbs up Eve's sleeve in order to take a perch on her shoulder. 'Shame
      you only got the _voice_ part of his throat,' she chitters softly in the 
      Gnawer's ear.

Eve smirks for no apparent reason and looks over at the rat fondly.

"Follow me," Eve mumbles and she leads Joshua into the Cafeteria. There, she
      points at a plastic container that is full of water and several rags. 
      "Wash. I'll get you some clothes that should fit."

Joshua shakes his head once at the clothes remark, pulling the shirt off over
      his head and beginning to wash some of the blood off... hard to do, when 
      he's still bleeding from the side.

Eve sighs and digs out the last of the bandages. "Hold still." If Joshua
      complies, she binds his bleeding side.

Joshua holds still. Sort of. He's still busy washing up, and therefore moving.
      Well, at least he doesn't look like he used a slaughter house as his 
      swimming pool any more. The Shirt gets dunked in the tub and wrinnged 
      out, the motion not doing much to get the formerly white t-shirt back to 
      it's original color.

Cornpop digs her little claws into the cloth of Eve's shirt and holds her
      perch. 'You're too nice to him,' she tells the Bone Gnawer. Like 
      wolf-speech, rat-talk is not entirely verbal. 'Thinks he's too good for 
      Mama Rat, feh. _Feh_.'

Eve mutters something about having to get a new drinking water container, as
      she finishes binding the Glass Walker's side. Rolling her eyes as he 
      attempts to wash his shirt, Eve leaves the room. 'No, he is an idiot, not 
      worth Mama Rat's time,' she squeaks to the rat.

Joshua finishes wringing out the shirt, closer to the original white as he
      pulls it back over his head damp. The youth offers a weak smile and and 
      two finger salute again, before he does a more stiff, formal bow, turning 
      for the out and out again.

Eve is standing by the exit as Josh attempts to leave, a pair of old (and
      somewhat smelly) jeans in her hands, a sweat top and a length of rope. 
      "Change."

Cornpop chitters softly at Eve. 'Stupid stupid stupid. I don't like this. I
      don't. You should kill him now, now and quick. This smells bad, bad bad.'

Josh frowns, shaking his head. He tugs once at the shirt with his fingers,
      taking another step to the side in that live action game of charades he 
      was playing earlier.

Eve sighs heavily. "Oh for Gaia's sake. Just change clothes. You can keep the
      old ones and take them home if you like."