Urrah in the Sticks

[hazlogs]

DATE:  Sunday, October 4, 1998
Place:  Barnyard of the Escrowe Farmhouse

JJ Malone's desc:
All but the least perceptive would notice that there's something not *quite* 
   right with this person. J.J. is about 5'11" and around 140-150 pounds in a 
   wiry, boxy form which gives no hint of gender. He appears to be in his 
   early twenties, although it's hard to judge. His dark brown hair is cut 
   short and tapered, parted to one side and brushed down smoothly. His facial 
   features have a foreign cast under medium-dark, olive-toned skin, although 
   the predominant feature is the black-rimmed mirrored sunglasses worn no 
   matter the weather, time of day, or his location. He is dressed casually in 
   a white T-shirt, ripped jeans, black leather jacket, and low-topped combat 
   boots.
Unless specifically posed otherwise, he is sitting somewhere.

Brandon's desc:
Brandon stands a lanky six feet tall. His shoulders are thin and drooping, 
   which only accents his anemic, sunken countenance. The nose that protrudes 
   from beneath his eyes end in a rounded nub, hints of Germanic blood peeking 
   through to cast shadows on his face wherever he is hit by the light. His 
   shallow blue eyes are deeply set and almost are rimmed with black sleep 
   marks, and his hair matches the their color, a tawny dyed, some would say 
   ugly, black. The hair is cropped short around his head and lightly 
   jelled... the small locks frazzled and segregated. His chin has bits of 
   black stubble across it along with his upper lip, signs of his growth into 
   age. He wears a pair of loose brown khakis over his legs, tucked up with a 
   leather belt. Over his torso hangs a black longsleaved shirt; on the front 
   of the shirt there is a design with a cycloptic human standing, sexless and 
   naked, within the blackness of the fabric. Along the shirt's backside there 
   are the words 'Prying Open My Third Eye'. He wears a pair of brown hiking 
   boots over his feet.

Daisy's desc:
She's a decently handsome-looking young girl in her early teens, perhaps 
   fourteen or so. Deep brown eyes hold a sparkle of inner life and joy. She 
   clearly enjoys simply living life to its fullest--but in a quiet fashion 
   rather than boisterously ostentatious. She wears a baggy pair of pants and 
   a non-confining pull over shirt. She looks better dressed than a normal 
   child would, almost as if mommy or daddy picked out her clothes for her.

Salem's desc:
        Tall and dark, he stands a few inches over six feet, a striking and 
   rather dangerous-looking man in his mid-twenties. Black hair frames hawkish 
   features and a high forehead, the dark eyes deep-set. It's a face 
   tailor-made for brooding and cynicism, and he excels at both moods. He's 
   handsome, albeit in a devilish, saturnine kind of way, but rarely does he 
   seem truly relaxed, and often a sharp and tense hatred seems to rage just 
   beneath the surface of his flesh, a murderous anger held in check by a 
   tight and uncertain control. A black goatee lines his lips and jaw, and a 
   thick scar runs down the left side of his face, just missing the eye. In 
   short, he has the look of the very devil about him, a Lucifer fallen from 
   grace, bitter about his fate and prone to dark moods and unprovoked 
   violence.
        He's dressed entirely in black; the funereal color suits his 
   appearance and often his mood. A clean short-sleeved t-shirt is tucked into 
   a pair of BDU-style military pants. He wears sneakers instead of boots, for 
   whatever reason, and has his shoulder-length hair tied back, leaving only a 
   few loose strands to fall over his forehead and eyes.  He's moving a bit 
   more carefully than usual, light-footed but without the customary 
   impressive grace. <<+details>>

Salem drives in silence, his manner uncommunicative and grim. He parks as 
   close to the farmhouse as seems reasonable.
Brandon has maintained close hold of his backpack throughout the little 
   journey, his head turned to look out the window a majority of the time.
Daisy merely enjoys the ride, happy to be out and about and taking in all the 
   new scenery.
While Salem seems uncommunicative, J.J. seems downright withdrawn during the 
   trip, also looking out the window for the duration of the ride. It is only 
   when Salem parks behind the house that the metis stirs, stifling a sigh, 
   then with thinly veiled, undirected anger, says, "Okay, this is where we 
   get out."
Brandon steps out of the vehicle as he's directed, coming to rest a meter from 
   the side of the opened door with his pack slung over his shoulder.
Salem grunts, shutting the car down. He unbuckles and climbs out, letting the 
   cubs exit under their own power while he walks around the car to help JJ.
Jeff's Viper is already sitting in the driveway and Jeff himself is leaned 
   against it, smoking a cigarette. He looks up, hearing the group arrive and 
   slowly strides toward them. "Welcome t' hell."
Daisy fumbles with the car door mechanism for a moment, trying to push on it, 
   then twist it, and then finally pulling on it. The combination of pulling 
   the lever and pushing on the door isn't immediately obvious to her, but she 
   figures it out in a few seconds. She steps out of the vehicle and shuts the 
   door behind her. It ends up ajar and unlocked, but closed. Good enough for 
   Daisy, though. Looks fine to her.
JJ Malone's jaw is white under the tension of being clenched so tightly it's 
   surprising his teeth aren't breaking as he opens the door, and begins 
   manhandling his legs over the edge of the seat, about the same time Salem 
   makes it around the car, Daisy makes it out, and long after Jeff and 
   Brandon have approached. With unspoken fury etched into his expression, he 
   helps Salem help him out of the car, an arm draped around the tall cliath 
   ahroun's shoulders, and leaning heavily against him with his other hand 
   balanced on the car.
Salem mutters something quietly to Malone.
Brandon scoots his way toward Jeff, taking a quick look around as he moves. 
   "Hey," he says plainly.
Salem whispers "Get the fucking bee out of your ass, /Mr./ Malone. Can your 
   legs take any weight at all yet?"
Jeff says around the cigarette, "Hey kid, didn't rough you up too much, did 
   they? Looks as if you survived so far." He pauses, glancing to the Ahroun 
   pair and makes his way to them.
Brandon settles against Jeff's Viper with a slow nod. "Not yet," he replies.
JJ Malone turns a bright red at whatever Salem mutters, although the reason 
   for it is unclear. However, the furious look lessens a touch to mere anger 
   as he shakes his head in response.
Nigel comes onto the lane from the road.
Salem shakes his head slightly and gets an arm under Malone's legs, lifting 
   the other Ahroun bodily. A foot kicks the car door closed. Judging by the 
   depth of Jack's scowl, he doesn't like the situation any more than JJ does.
A maroon minivan exits Sunrise Road and finds coasts to a stop off the side of 
   the lane. Nigel unbuckles, gets out, begins to walk away and then remembers 
   to press the button on his keychain and make the doors lock with that 
   'Tweep-tweep' sound.
Jeff exhales a cloud of smoke as he approaches the pair. "Need a hand?" he 
   asks Jack, politely enough.
Brandon leans back against the Viper and stares forward, intent to just exist 
   for the moment.
Salem shakes his head at Jeff. To JJ, he grunts, "Where? The house?"
JJ Malone begins another anger-laden scowl at Jeff at his question, but 
   manages to bite back his verbal response as he reins in his temper. He 
   averts his eyes from the philodox, then shakes his head at Salem. "The 
   barn. It's supposedly for fighting practice, we'll do it there."
Daisy casually circles towards JJ and crew. JJ's in good hands so she doesn't 
   offer to help. Still, she sticks closeby with pack-like mentality. She's 
   there for support, if not physical, then aiding in morale.
Salem does another of his grunts. "Barn. Right." The ex-Ronin tromps off 
   toward the barnyard, carrying JJ.

**** Everyone goes to the barn

Big Red Barn
Contents:
Daisy
Salem
Brian
Kit
Teddy
Kane
Zahira

Nigel enters the ground level of the barn through one of the doors.
Brandon enters the ground level of the barn through one of the doors.
Teddy sits on the floor of the barn, facing the wall so that he's not staring 
   at the naked Glabros behind him.
Jeff enters the ground level of the barn through one of the doors.
Kit has dedicated clothing.
Salem tromps in near the head of the mass of Glass Walkers, carrying JJ and 
   looking almost but not quite as grim and angry as the Walker elder.
Nigel enters a minute or two after the rest of the Walkers, having parked 
   further away. "By all the gods, it's a cotillion."
Brandon trails after the two Ahrouns, a new-looking backpack slung over one 
   shoulder as he walks.

Kit's desc:
The first thing you notice about the girl is her energy. She seems to often be 
   concentrating on two things at once. Her light complexion is set at a deep 
   contrast from her dark black hair which falls down her back to about waist 
   length while the front is trimmed into bangs. Her face seems to be feline 
   in some way, her ears seem to be slightly pointed and her eyes are dark and 
   gleam like obsidian giving her a look of curiosity and energy. Around 6'2" 
   she has the build of someone who lifts weights regularly. From the looks of 
   her she seems to be somewhere between the ages of 15 and 17. Her attire is 
   simple and laid back. She wears ripped blue jean shorts and a brown short 
   sleeve sweater which seems a little to tight to be comfortable. Depending 
   on the weather she may have a black and white Nike sweat suit top with her 
   too.

Teddy's desc:
        A walking, talking mountain of a man. He stands an easy 6'4" in 
   height, and that is for a man who can't be more than seventeen or eighteen 
   years of age, so there's more than likely another inch or two in his near 
   future before he stops. A study of muscles, not the bulging, about to pop 
   kind that you get from working out way too much but the lean kind that are 
   nurtured through a lifetime of hard work, strong and able to accomplish 
   most hard tasks. His hair is such a dark, inky black that it shines with 
   blue highlights as it tumbles down to his shoulders in a mass of tousled 
   waves and unruly curls. You wouldn't think that someone this big would be 
   easy on the eyes, but his features are most pleasing. A clean shaven 
   jawline is only one part of a strong, handsome face. He looks like a statue 
   of a Greek Hero with the face of an avenging angel, a work of art that just 
   happens to be living, breathing flesh and blood.
        He has new clothing. His jeans are dark indigo and still stiff, not 
   having been properly broken in yet. His shirt is a bright, jewel green and 
   black plaid flannel, and some kind soul has even managed to get him into an 
   undershirt, the splash of bright white peeking up just at the edge of the 
   shirt. Someone's also gotten him a new pair of boots, heavy workboots, the 
   kind with steel in the toes and made to take all kinds of abuse. He still, 
   however, has his worn burlap bag over one shoulder, bulging with his 
   belongings to the point of threatening to split the seams. On one leg he 
   has a hand made sheath strapped to his thigh, holding a hand made knife 
   that he's fashioned from part of an old saw blade, polished to surgical 
   cleanliness and held by a polished wood handle he made from a discarded 
   stick.

Jeff slips in with the rest of the Walker parade, though takes a moment to 
   stomp his cigarette out at the door before entering.
Brian makes his way over towards Kane after entering the barn.
Kane looks up at Brian and the others and simply laughs. "Well, shit. There's 
   goes the night."
Zahira suddenly pauses in her dancing and glances about at the steady stream 
   of Garou entering the barn. For once, her modesty actually seems to prevail 
   and she shifts back down to homid as she grins to Kit. "Maybe we should do 
   this later," she says hastily, fairly diving for her clothing.
Daisy sticks close to the gaggle of Walkers, keeping near those she knows.
Kit shifts back into homid. "We could do it in lupus then you would have fur."
Brian's eyes slide towards the naked cub before returning to Kane, and a smug 
   smile spreads across his lips. "Hey," he says to the other Fianna full 
   moon. "I wanted to hear you tell me a story."
Teddy ventures... "Is it safe t'look yet, Miss Kit?"
Zahira shakes her head as she begins the task of pulling on underclothes, the 
   torn fishnets, skirt and shirts. "Nah. Na' t'night."
Kit nods. "Alright. Some other time. Probably not to good an idea during a 
   full moon anyway."
Brandon takes a few steps back, joining up with Jeff before he again turns his 
   attention inward toward the barn itself and its inhabitants.
JJ Malone looks over and levels an icy glare at Kane at his joking comment, 
   but tears his gaze away to find Brian reflexively and a touch defiantly. 
   "We interrupting? We were going to use the place for some fighting 
   practice."
Kane smirks faintly at Brian. "Y'sound like the bastards at school. Y'know, 
   right before I had to explain why I sent a kid off to the hospital. 'm I in 
   trouble?"
Teddy waits to hear if it's safe to turn around yet.
Brian's shoulders lift and fall in a mild shrug. "I'll take my crew somewhere 
   else," he says quietly in answer to JJ, without actually turning towards 
   him. "No, you're not in trouble; I want to hear what went on with you while 
   you were in the Homeland, so I can decide whether to make you a Cliath or 
   not."
Zahira finishes adjusting the last of her clothing and calls out in a 
   sing-song voice to Teddy. "Turn around!"
Teddy does so, very slowly and ready to turn back to the wall if she's pulling 
   his leg. Once he sees that she's fully clothed, he goes ahead and turns 
   around fully.
Kane nods to Brian, apparently not even taking note of JJ's look. "Ah. Not 
   quite as fun as trouble, but ya provide the booze an' I'll talk." He grins 
   at the elder and sets the guitar aside.
Jeff remains close by the other Walkers, quietly eyeing the garou that aren't 
   in his tribe.
Kit walks over by Teddy and sits down looking at all the people around her.
Brian simply nods. "Round up Zahira and anyone else who wants to hear you 
   babble, and then meet me indoors, in the living room."
JJ Malone's defiance eases and his anger ebbs slightly at Brian's answer, 
   suddenly humbly abashed as he nods to the Alpha's back. "My thanks." His 
   glance goes to the other three here, all strangers, but then looks at 
   Salem. "Put me down there," he says, pointing. "Brandon, Daisy, do whatever 
   you want to do to loosen up. Or, tell me you're ready." His words come out 
   oddly cut off, not quiet through clenched teeth, but with that quality to 
   it.
Brandon stares toward Malone for a few moments, then towards Jeff. He rolls 
   his shoulders, dropping his pack, and says, "Ready."
Zahira just frowns a little and falls, for once, silent. She rushes over to 
   sweep up her guitar and her little velvet bag, the sound of the glass vials 
   within clinking together quietly.
Teddy leans over to Miss Kit, whispering to her.
Jeff takes a step away from the cubs, happy simply watching from the 
   sidelines. Still, however, he keeps an eye on the non-Walkers, as if they 
   might suddenly break out weapons and attack.
Salem, without a word, carries JJ over to the indicated spot and sets the 
   metis down -- not too gently, but not too roughly, either. He steps back 
   then and turns around, shrugging out of his coat and dropping it to the 
   barn floor next to his elder.
Kane shrugs a little, the leather jacket creaking, and jerks his head toward 
   the door. "Les go."
Brian turns away from Kane, then, his gaze sliding over towards Zahira again. 
   For a moment he watches her, then slips back outside the barn.
Brian leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Daisy looks from JJ, then to Brandon to see what he does. having no pack to 
   drop she experimentally mimics his shoulder motion. This gets followed up 
   by a quieter, "Ready."
Nigel chooses a corner of the room and settles down into it, giving the sworls 
   on Zahira's boots a curious look.
Kit whispers back to Teddy. "I have no clue. Want to go somewhere else?"
Teddy shrugs.
Zahira glances back around again, watching the people stare at her. "Wierdos," 
   she mumbles, just loud enough, before following her Elder out of the barn.
Kit stands and motions for Teddy to follow her out the door.
Zahira leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Teddy scrambles to his feet.
Kit leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Teddy leaves the barn through one of the doors.
JJ Malone glances up sharply after Zahira at her mumble, and scowls. With a 
   quick head jerk to Jeff, he says, "Go correct her, will you?"
Kane leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Salem's lip curls visibly, but he says nothing.
Brandon's eyes squint together at the comment, but he remains otherwise silent.
Jeff nods once to the Walker Alpha and slips out the door.
Jeff leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Fate is simply conspiring to make J.J.'s life annoying right now, perhaps 
   explaining the pissed off look on his face. He looks down a moment to 
   compose himself, then looks back up. "I was going to test your fighting 
   skills myself, but now it seems I have to watch instead. Who wants to go 
   first?"
Brandon looks over toward Daisy for a moment; he shrugs a single time. "I 
   can," he offers.
Salem, to emphasize, perhaps, cracks his knuckles rather noisily and stares 
   violently at the two cubs.
Daisy again watches Brandon to see what he does. He volunteers. So she waits 
   patiently for her turn.
JJ Malone looks at the cliath theurge. "Nigel. Could you please do the honors? 
   Test him good, don't pull your punches, but don't kill him, either." His 
   tone coupled with the blankness of expression promoted by the mirror-shaded 
   sunglasses give his rules an inhuman inflection. He uses his hands to pull 
   his legs up under him cross-legged, then crosses his arms over his chest to 
   watch.
Brandon has seen this before, so he lets it slide without much of a reaction 
   aside from a blase' stare. He steps a few feet away from where he 
   previously had stood, leaving Jeff's side.
Nigel takes off his watch and takes his pistol out of its shoulder holster, 
   leaving them neatly against the wall as he walks towards Brandon. "All 
   right, then. Remember, lad, I'm a scientist, not a fighter. Be gen" he 
   snaps a quick jab at the cub's chin "tle."
Brandon leans back from the punch without much grace, but he gets the job 
   done. Salem did teach him something. His eyes squint, annoyed, as he 
   recovers his footing from the awkward move.
Nigel's eyebrow lifts a bit. "Not bad..." He takes a step or two back and 
   begins to grow copious amounts of fur.
Nigel shifts into Crinos form.
Brandon makes a quiet grunting sound. He begins to shift, doing the same as 
   Nigel... without as much speed, but again getting the job done -- a little 
   faster than one would expect from a city-dwelling Walker cub.
Brandon shifts into Crinos form.
Nigel politely waits for Brandon to finish shifting and waits for him to 
   attack, hands lifted in a boxing stance.
Brandon keeps his hands and body hunched over. He starts to move in a circle 
   around Nigel, ears and tail turned upward.
"Oh, come on," J.J. says impatiently. "We're not following Queensbury rules 
   here. Fight, already!"
Nigel half-turns to face JJ, looking distracted. "What?"
Salem snarls. "Do a bit of damned ass-kicking."
Brandon turns his left ear towards Malone unconsciously. He watches Nigel's 
   little twist of the head, and his reaction is a sudden switch of stance and 
   short pause. He leans up and, with his left leg, tries to sweep forward and 
   kick Nigel in the gut. His attack doesn't come with much force; he seems 
   concerned about balance in this still-relatively-new form.
Jeff enters the ground level of the barn through one of the doors.
Jeff quietly slips through the doorway and shuts it behind him again. He gives 
   a light nod to JJ then decides to walk over to him.
JJ Malone grunts as he watches Brandon's attack on Nigel. "Better," he 
   comments, then looks over to Jeff as he returns. He makes a slight hand 
   gesture indicating 'hang on', then returns his attention to the fight.
Nigel, less distracted than he appeared, leans backwards and grabs Brandon's 
   foot has it comes towards him. Still holding on to the cub's leg, he takes 
   a spring backwards.
Brandon rushes forward with his other leg, trying to kick-claw at Nigel's 
   abdomen and push away at the same time. He twists his body for leverage, 
   reaching back with his arms and pushing out with his hips.
Nigel falls onto his back, a little surprised at the rush, gathers his white 
   feet and kicks upwards at what might be a tender portion of Brandon.
Brandon lands on his stomach, seemingly prepared for the ground and the added 
   leverage it may supply. He pushes forward at the floor of the barn with 
   both paws and, again using his hips, refuses to shy away from Nigel's 
   onslaught. He kicks back with as much power as he can manage, searching for 
   freedom from the Theurge's grip.
Jeff leans against the wall, quietly watching the proceedings and nodding 
   every so often.
Nigel seems to have decided the leg is more trouble than it's worth. He lets 
   it go as he scoots backwards and begins to rise to his feet.
Brandon lifts one arm up and heaves his body so that his muzzle faces up and 
   toward Nigel, at the same time sweeping his right leg forward toward the 
   Theurge's ankles in an attempt to get him off his paws.
Nigel goes down on his tail with a grunt, looking displeased.
Brandon pulls his leg back from the sweep and again twists his body around. 
   This time his other leg comes up and out, aimed toward Nigel's gut. The cub 
   clamps both of his hands against the ground as he kicks out, fighting to 
   keep moving without destroying his balance with an overextended attack.
JJ Malone's hands come out from under his arms, balling into fists, as he 
   begins commenting on the fight. "Jump him, Nigel," she mutters, like a 
   spectator at a wrestling match.
This hit's a solid one, and Nigel's breath is expelled in a "Wooosh" as it 
   lands. He continues rolling in the direction the kick propelled him in, 
   getting one foot under him as he bumps up against the opposite wall.
Brandon gets back to both of his paws and persues Nigel through his roll and 
   toward the wall. He resumes his lowered, hunched over position... and tries 
   to barrel Nigel back against the wall with a rush, keeping his shoulder 
   exposed to the brunt of the hopeful hit.
Nigel waits until the last possible second, then jumps ten feet straight up in 
   the air. Brandon hits the wall, and a blink later the Theurge lands on top 
   of him with a sound like a hundred-pound bag of flour being dropped off a 
   tall building.
Salem's brows arch skyward, and a toothsome grin splits the dour Ahroun's face.
Brandon roars at the suddeness of the attack. He crashes to the ground, 
   splinters sticking from the wooden side of the barn where he hit. It seems, 
   however, the the cub.. is out cold.
Jeff grimaces as he sees his cousin take a serious beating. Still, however, he 
   grins lightly when he sees he's not too badly beaten.
Nigel rolls to his feet, pauses, and waves his fingers solicitously in front 
   of Brandon's eyes. ~Lad? Yoo-hoo?~
The Philodox Cub's leg extends and he weakly rolls to the side, a moaning 
   sound coming from his Crinos lips. "Shit," it sounds like, in English.
A smirking smile tugs up a corner of J.J.'s mouth, the first sign of humor in 
   the usually sardonic ahroun all night. "Drag him off, Nigel. Salem, your 
   turn with Daisy." While the two pairs are sorting themselves out, he asks, 
   "So, everything squared away, Jeff?"
Jeff nods lightly, "It is. I was intending to talk with her directly, but the 
   alpha was in there. He said he'd talk to her about it. I should probably 
   follow up on it sometime soon, though."
Salem steps forward toward Daisy, rolling his shoulders slightly. The Ahroun 
   wastes no time at all. One step, two steps, and then *lunge*. He's in 
   Glabro the next heartbeat, lashing out with first one fist and then the 
   other, all in the time it takes to blink.
JJ Malone nods curtly. "Please. If Brian's handling it, I'm sure it'll be 
   done, but I'd like to know what, if at all possible."
Nigel slings Brandon's arm over his shoulder and helps him off to the side. 
   ~Easy, there. Fortunately, damage from wall impacts heals quickly. (Unless 
   they used silver nails).~
Brandon is, obviously enough, dazed out of his mind. His angular head rests up 
   against Nigel's limply, but by the time he's in the corner he's reverted to 
   a fully clothed homid form.
Daisy has hardly turned away from the conclusion to the first fight when Salem 
   comes out swinging. Quick reflexes spare her from the first thrown fist as 
   she dodges it. The follow-up catches her squarely and sends her back a few 
   steps fromt he force of the blow. She shifts as she retreats, reaching to 
   match the ahroun's Glabro form while preparing for his next attack to come.
Nigel sets Brandon down gently and squats beside him, watching his housemate's 
   fight with more than a little concern in his eyes.
Anyone watching Salem fight would not be surprised to learn he once packed 
   under Wolverine; the Ahroun's clearly believes strongly in the use of Rage 
   and in ending a battle as quickly as possible. He continues to use his 
   fists, and occasionally a savagely kicking foot, but this is the only mercy 
   Daisy gets as the older Garou continues a truly relentless pummeling.
Daisy manages to duck the next incoming punch. The second lands a glancing 
   blow, and the following kick to the knee fells her in short notice. In 
   fact, the leg looks broken. The normally quiet theurge lets out a loud yelp 
   of pain as she tries to get away from the ahroun, showing throat.
Salem stops himself cold, his expression drawn and tight, trembling slightly 
   with the full moon effect on his rage. He grunts and steps back.
JJ Malone nods curtly again. "Good. Take a moment to heal," she tells the 
   lupus cub. "You should fast enough. Jeff, I want you to test her in crinos."
As the ahroun ceases fighting, Daisy stops trying to get away. Through gritted 
   teeth, she grasps her leg with both hands as it slowly mends itself back 
   together.
Jeff crosses his arms a moment, then nods. "Not exactly my strong suit, but 
   I'll give it a shot." He slowly strides toward the center of the barn, 
   shifting up to Crinos in the process.
Salem reverts back to breed form as he retakes a place standing next to JJ.
Brandon finally comes around. Awareness comes to his features, and his eyes 
   abruptly squint shut. He sits up, leaning against the nearest wall while 
   still seated.
Brian enters the ground level of the barn through one of the doors.
Zahira enters the ground level of the barn through one of the doors.
As Daisy's leg is nearly finished healing, the theurge wipes a few tears from 
   her eyes with the back of her hands. She sniffles once, a side effect of 
   the tears and tear ducts, and gets back to her feet slowly to test her 
   by-now healed leg. She begins shifting towards Crinos, dropping down to all 
   fours. At least it feels more familiar.
Salem folds his arms across his chest and glares at Daisy, as though the lupus 
   cub's lack of skill were a personal affront.
Daisy shifts into Crinos form.
~Ready?~ Jeff asks the cub, taking a step forward.
Brian enters the barn with Zahira just behind him. He doesn't appear to be in 
   a particular rush, nor does he appear particularly surprised at the state 
   of the barn's occupants.
Cat-Killer growls back a ~Ready~ through black lips. Tail low at first, it 
   raises now in a hostile gesture as she tries to take command of the 
   situation by circling the other Walker.
Zahira is slightly tense and oddly out of place, her tiny braids falling about 
   her face like a veil as she glances out from beneath them. She's not quite 
   sure who exactly it was that was so taken aback and thus watches each of 
   the other garou carefully.
Jeff turns, following the other Crinos with his eyes. His teeth bare a second 
   before he closes the distance between the pair with a quick lunge.
Nigel gives Daisy a concerned look from his position beside the dazed Brandon. 
   "C'mon, lass. You can do it. "
Salem's face twists. "Pretend he's a cat, you tail-tucking little whelp!"
Brandon rubs the backs of his hands against his eyes and again rests back 
   against the wall. He turns his hazy attention to his cousin and the other 
   cub, looking still dazed.
JJ Malone'd eyes were fastened on the cliath and cub facing each other in the 
   center, but the sound of the door opening garners his attention. His 
   expression tightens a little as he focuses on Zahira behind Brian, but then 
   nods curtly but with some respect to the Alpha. He glances to the fight 
   once then back to Brian, as if trying to figure out where he should or 
   would be allowed to put his attention.
Cat-Killer does the unexpected. She lunges towards Jeff. Her jaws open at 
   first, then close with a snap before she comes into contact with him. It's 
   a nice effort, but the net results are her getting plowed under by the 
   other Walker.
Brian casually points Zahira towards JJ, as if making sure the young woman's 
   seen the Glass Walker elder.
Jeff shifts his weight accordingly, managing to remain on top of the situation 
   and, in turn, on top of the cub. He tries to put the brunt of his weight on 
   her and hold her down.
Nigel's pained study of the fight gives way to a more curious look at the 
   Elder-Alpha-cub activity.
Zahira's smallish hand comes to rest on her elder's arm and she's about to 
   ask, but, as he points toward the seated man she nods. Sighing just once 
   she lifts her chin and straightens herself a little before closing the 
   distance between him and herself. "Rhya?" she offers quietly towards the 
   stranger as she comes to stand before him.
So much for fighting on four legs in crinos. Cat-Killer squirms beneath Jeff, 
   trying to twist onto her side while flailing wildly with her limbs.
The pointing by Brian clues J.J. in on what's going in, and the Glass Walker 
   metis watches the fight until Zahira addresses him. His attention goes up 
   to the Fianna cub, head moving up and sideways to look up at her from his 
   seated position from behind mirrored sunglases. "Yes?" he asks in clipped 
   tones, controlled annoyance coloring his expression.
Jeff manages to stay on the cub for a little while, looking a bit like a 
   monsterous cowboy on an equally mean looking bull. He is eventually struck 
   by one of the flailing limbs and his weight is shifted enough for the cub 
   to escape.
Cat-Killer doesn't escape, though. She uses the space Jeff yields from 
   straddling her prone form to bring her leg up hard and fast for his groin 
   with a crinos "knee".
Salem's attention flickers toward the cub approaching his tribal elder, and 
   then moves swiftly back to the fight, and scrutinizing Daisy's performance.
Zahira begins to bite her lip but then stops and just exhales. "I'm sorry if I 
   offended ya, Sir," she says, her voice quiet but the creole accent shining 
   through. "I...did'n think before I spoke."
Jeff again shifts his weight, managing to avoid the brunt of the kick, though 
   the inside of his leg is struck and he tumbles to the side, favoring the 
   leg a little now.
Cat-Killer rolls instantly towards Jeff. Her arm on the far side swings up, 
   over, and down carrying not only the force of the normal blow, but the 
   additional energy gained from the centripital force of her body rolling. 
   It's aimed for the head or neck region.
JJ Malone's jaw tightens a fraction, and there's a flicker of a glance at 
   Brian, there and gone, before the metis responds. "You did offend me," he 
   agrees flatly. "And if you'd been in the city, you'd've gotten more than 
   just a talking to for such stupid, thoughtless behavior. Unless o' course 
   you want us to start making comments about dancing naked in this kind of 
   weather," he says bitingly. He holds his silence a moment, then nods 
   abruptly. "Apology accepted. I hope you won't be doing it again unless 
   you're prepared to stand behind it."
Salem, his attention fully on Daisy and Jeff now, nods his head a fraction.
Jeff has one or two tricks left up the proverbial sleeve. He quickly reaches 
   up to block with one arm, catching the punch, and with the other hand 
   strikes right above the cub's elbow.
Zahira's shoulders tense in her own right and her chin lifts slightly moreso. 
   "If it makes any difference at all, It was not aimed towards you, Rhya. I 
   don't even know who you, ya did nothin' to me an I really had no intentions 
   of doin anythin t'ya. As it is, 'm sorry. Goodnight." The mixed blood girl 
   quickly nods and turns, body rigid as she walks back to her own elder.
*Crack!* Arms shouldn't bend that way. Cat-Killer's lets out another loud yelp 
   of pain and surprise. Her attacking arm hangs at an odd angle. The fight, 
   obviously going to Jeff by this point, is ended by the theurge offering 
   throat.
"All the more reason to be careful," J.J. says towards Zahira's retreating 
   back. Again, a flicker of a glance to Brian, but the cracking sound brings 
   his head around to the fight to catch the submissive gesture.
The faint glimmer of approval on Salem's face has, by now, vanished utterly. 
   His mouth twists again, saturnine features becoming even more grim.
Jeff pulls himself off the ground. Seeing the cub's submission, he nods once 
   and slowly shifts back down to his birthform.
Zahira's disgust is visible on her face but any and all blatant insults are 
   kept silently inside her mouth this time. She stands by Brian, looking down 
   and crossing her arms to avoid the outburst she can feel building.
Cat-Killer reverts to homid form, the arm looking better as she slowly shifts 
   back. Looking discouraged, she moves to rejoin the other Walkers.
Cat-Killer shifts into Homid form.
Salem's dark eyes bore into Daisy as the cub approaches.
Jeff moves back toward where Brandon is laying, still favoring the leg a 
   little. He takes a few moments to guide his hair back into place before 
   leaning against the wall.
JJ Malone mutters off to the side as low as possible and yet still be heard by 
   the other Walker ahroun, "Help me up, will you?" Each word seems dragged 
   into the air of the barn like wild horses into a corral.
When Zahira reaches him, Brian sets a hand on her shoulder and gives a gentle 
   squeeze. "I'm going to head out," he tells his student. "Remember to tell 
   Duncan that he can start hauling you into the Shadow whenever he thinks 
   you're ready, hm?"
Salem grunts and bends down, hooking an arm around JJ and hauling the metis 
   up, bodily.
Zahira nods, but keeps her eyes down. "Yessir," she says quietly, "I'll be 
   sure to tell 'im. Thank you. "
"You're welcome," Brian says quietly. "Remember what I said before, too: don't 
   let your evening be ruined." With that, he turns and makes his way out of 
   the barn.
Brian leaves the barn through one of the doors.
JJ Malone grimaces in pain as he is hoisted up, one arm hooked around Salem's 
   neck, the other going out to one of the sturdy wooden poles for support. 
   "You both did okay," he tells Brandon and Daisy gruffly. "A few more weeks 
   of practice, and you might not die your first time out against something 
   real. And now, one more lesson before you go through your Rite of Passage. 
   For the next two weeks, you're going to be staying out here."
Zahira lifts her head enough to glance briefly back around the barn before 
   leaving quickly and silently before her temper gets the better of her.
Zahira leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Brandon leans up against the barn's side, listening to Malone without a word. 
   He's still flustered from what happened earlier.
Jeff snorts softly, watching the Fianna cub leave. "Something tells me that 
   wasn't a lesson she enjoyed learning."
Salem growls, "My heart bleeds."
Brandon finally reacts to Malone's edict, and he raises a hand up... blinking 
   twice. "Here?" he asks suddenly.
Daisy brightens slightly at JJ's words of praise, and then her face falls at 
   being left out here to fend for herself. "No go home?"
Jeff nods once to Brandon, but says nothing further.
"No," J.J. responds first, to Daisy. "Here," to Brandon's echoing question. He 
   pauses, listening to the silence, then continues in a softer voice. "You 
   just saw the product of one ignorant cub. This Family won't have it. If we 
   were anywhere but here, it wouldn't be an issue, but here, in this place," 
   he looks between both cubs to drive his point home, "*they* control the 
   Caern. And so we have to at least know how to get along with them. Many of 
   their cubs stay here, some until they are Rited. I want you to get to know 
   them. Learn how to get along with them, and how to get by here. That's all 
   I want. Understand?" she asks, again looking between them, this time for 
   their response.
Brandon nods his head simply, darting a sideward glance toward Jeff. "Yes," he 
   replies, leaning down after taking a few steps to pick up his backpack.
Daisy wrinkles her nose slightly, as if she might have just smelled something 
   mildly offensive. That doesn't stop her from agreeing with the Elder, 
   though. "Yes sir," she says in her usual, timid and quiet tone.
Nigel tries to sound more cheerful than he looks. "We can still visit *you* 
   two; it's only for two weeks, and I'm sure they have cable. Well. Fairly 
   sure."
Nigel looks outside, hoping to spot a sattelite dish or other sign of 
   civilization somewhere around the house.
Brandon starts to step toward Daisy, figuring he'd best stick with his 
   tribemate through this. His eyes once again turn to Jeff for a moment.
Salem rolls his eyes. "Oh, for fuck's sake," he mutters.
JJ Malone grunts once. "Good. Remember, too, you're Glass Walkers. Family. 
   Don't act like that little chit who just walked up. You're representing us 
   to them, and I'll expect you to do us proud, even as 'just cubs'. When 
   you're done here, it'll be time for your Rite of Passage. Use the time 
   wisely."
Brandon looks back toward Malone and again gives a clipped nod of 
   acknowledgement. "I don't plan on it," he informs.
Jeff nods once, in agreement with the other's words. To Brandon, he says, 
   "Packed you a change of clothes. In the car."
Brandon moves toward Jeff. "Good," he says, starting to make his way out of 
   the barn on wobbly legs. He's still recovering from Nigel's little bound. 
   Damn it all anyway.
"No," J.J. says immediately in response to Jeff's comment. "He gets what he 
   brought, and nothing more. Just like Daisy. Just like *them*."
Jeff looks to JJ and nods, "As you say, sir." He looks to Brandon, shrugging, 
   "Sorry, kid." Letting out a yawn, he checks his watch, "Well, I need to get 
   back."
Brandon puts a hand on Jeff's shoulder and pulls his pack closer to his side. 
   "No problem," he says. "I'll see you soon, man."
Daisy wears a face that looks similar to that a puppy might have if it was 
   chained in the yard and the family left the house and started walking away 
   down the street.
Nigel pauses and says something to Daisy softly.
Jeff smirks a little, "Two weeks, Brandon. Try not to kill anyone. And, if you 
   do, make it look like someone else did it." He gives a light chuckle before 
   heading toward the door. "Good night, everyone."
JJ Malone nods at the elder Montgomery. "Seeya," then looks to Brandon and 
   Daisy. Mindful of Nigel's quiet conversation, he still says, "I think there 
   are places for you to sleep in the house, or I've heard that some sleep up 
   in the loft. There's a couple people around who run the place, two Fianna, 
   one's named Megan, the other's Mark. I'm sure you'll run into one of them 
   in the next day or so. Ask them for the rest of the details. The only rule 
   I know for sure otherwise is that there's no shifting in the house or 
   anywhere in the farm area outside the trees. Think you can manage?"
Daisy whispers back to Nigel.
Brandon tilts his head toward Jeff as he starts to make his exit. "And -you- 
   make it top priority to get laid, 'kay?" he retorts. His attention turns 
   toward Malone, and he begins to listen... nodding as is appropriate.
Jeff slips out without further word.
Jeff leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Daisy pages to the room: Gameboy is too complex. Maybe they've got LiteBrite.
Derrick enters the ground level of the barn through one of the doors.
Nigel finishes his conversation with Daisy and gives his shoes a dubious look.
Daisy offers Nigel encouragement. "You do good. She like you, too."
JJ Malone stands between Salem and one of the thick support poles, leaning 
   heavily on the former with an arm around the ex-ronin's neck, Salem's arm 
   about his waist. His free hand is balancing him against the pole. 
   "Alright?" he prompts again, looking between Nigel and Daisy now that their 
   conversation is over.
Salem remains silent, waiting for the signal that the visit is over and the 
   adult Walkers can start heading back to the city.
Derrick opens the door with a slight creak, not bothering to look in to see if 
   anyone's there, just getting in and closing it again as soon as possible.
Nigel scratches the back of his neck. "Oh. Yes, yes. Things are fine. Local, 
   um, spirit matter. We're set."
JJ Malone glances over to notice Derrick, pausing before giving the Silver 
   Fang a bare nod that still conveys a modicum of unwitting respect, then 
   looks at Daisy. "If you have problems, go to Brandon. Okay?"
Daisy purses her lips slightly after replying to Shades with a quiet "Okay."
Brandon moves toward Daisy, as cued, and looks at her sidelong with a nod. 
   "It'll be okay," he states confidently, having already spent a few days the 
   hell that is "out at the Caern" at an earlier time.
Derrick gives JJ a nod back, and then a general one, faintly surprised, at the 
   rest of the Walkers.
Nigel smiles at Derrick and says "Evenin', Tree-kin" as he heads outside.
Salem's remark is free of any trace of warmfuzzy quality. "You'll live, Daisy."
Nigel leaves the barn through one of the doors.
Derrick leans against the barn wall, most of his attention on the one Walker 
   he doesn't know.
JJ Malone grunts softly, then says to Salem. "Good. Let's go, then. Good 
   evening to you, Derrick," he says with formal farewell, the epitome of 
   courtesy.
Brandon waves a hand toward the Fostern. "Later, Rhya," he says, already 
   searching around for a place to get comfortable, at least for the moment.
Derrick says, quite formal himself, "Good evenin to you, as well, Malone," 
   breaking his attention from Salem for the moment to do so.
Salem grunts. His eyes sweep over Derrick, giving the Fang a faint nod. Then 
   he leands over, hooks his free arm under JJ's useless legs, and lifts. 
   "Mmf."
Daisy watches the Walkers depart, looking like there's nothing more in the 
   world she'd like to do right now than be going with them.
Brandon puts a hand on Daisy's shoulder slowly. "Hey, we're gonna..." he 
   begins, looking over his shoulder as he continues, "have a lot of fun out 
   here." He adds a "Yeah" to assure himself.
Derrick grimaces sympathetically. "You guys stuck out in the sticks till 
   further notice?"
Daisy moves a bit closer to Brandon. Strength and security in numbers. 
   "Sticks?"
Brandon steps back from Daisy and pulls his backpack off of his shoulder. He 
   sets it down and starts to sit, attention on Derrick. "Two weeks," he 
   states, adding a tone of passive friendliness to his voice. "Sticks?" he 
   replies to Daisy, unsure of her meaning.
Derrick explains, "Boonies. Far away from the city. That sorta thing." He 
   /sounds/ friendly, anyway. "What's up with the exile, then?"
Salem carries JJ out of the barn without further word to the two cubs.