Erik at the Sept Compound Again

[hazlogs]

The Sept Compound(#2075RAM)
This clearing has recently undergone a bit of construction, though it seems
that at least some attempt has been made to keep the new structures
harmonious with the landscape around them. The central area is dominated by
a cookfire; in the southwest corner a shelter has been dug into the earth
and covered, while to the northwest, an open-air cabin of sorts has been
built. Except for the area around the fire, it seems nature has been allowed
to take its course. However, a student of such things might think that some
minimal landscaping or planning has been done, for the meadowlike profusion
of grasses and other plants has an unusually high concentration of brilliant
flowers, which attract a number of bees and butterflies.
A faint trail leads off to the east, and a bit north.

It is currently 13:32 Pacific Time on Wed Apr 23 1997.
Currently on this calm and crisp spring afternoon in the general St. Claire
area, it is 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17.2 degrees Celsius). The wind is coming
from the east at 0.6 mph. The ground is normal. Skies are hazy with no
chance of precipitation.
Currently the moon is in the waning Full Moon phase (92% full).

John sits by the fire, hands draped over his knees, comtemplatively gazing
into it.
Erik steps into the clearing via one of the usual trails.
Alexandra runs through katas, as if she just drank a case of Jolt.
John glances up on hearing Erik's arrival. He smiles at the Fianna.
"Afternoon."
Erik ducks his head slightly, mumbling hello as his eyes stray toward
Alexandra.
John returns his gaze to the fire, leaning back on his elbows and sighing
contentedly.
Alexandra twists the staff near one end, and 12 inches of steel slides out
with a soft silken snik.
Alexandra continues her kata, now using her spear as a part of the dance.
John's eyes widen a bit at the sight of the blade, quite glad the he isn't on
the business end of it.
Falcon's Wing enters the compound.
John sits near the fire, idly watching Alexandra practice.
Falcon's Wing pads through the forest near the Compound, smelling the comings
and goings. Eventually, he stops, to sit and listen.
Alexandra finally comes to a stop.
Alexandra twists the spear near one end, and the blade retracts within the
shaft.
Alexandra leans on her staff and takes a breather.
A shudder goes through the tall, dark-clothed figure, and he wraps his arms
around his torso, hugging himself. Abruptly, Erik drags his attention away
from the female Strider and moves to sit down near the fire.
Falcon's Wing pads further into the Compound, out of the trees, and whuffles a
quiet hello.
John nods to Derrick in greeting. "Afternoon."
Falcon's Wing looks at Alexandra's staff curiously.
Alexandra looks down at Falcon's Wing and smiles. "Never seen a featherstaff
before?"
Falcon's Wing has seen that one before. I just did not know it had a blade.
Alexandra grins and holds the staff so it's not pointing at anyone.
Alexandra twists the staff near one end, and 12 inches of steel slides out
with a soft silken snik.
Falcon's Wing pads closer and sniffs at it, and then shifts up.
Falcon's Wing contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Falcon's Wing shifts into Homid form.
Alexandra smiles sadly, "It's a gift my mother gave me the night she was
killed. She carried it, as far as I know, from the time *she* was a cub.
It's been in the family for as far back as anyone remembers."
Derrick says "Mind if I... take a heft? That looks pretty useful."
Alexandra bites her lip...then nods and allows Derrick to handle the staff.

[net bump. much later....]

Rosa Yeke enters the compound.
Rosa Yeke cartwheels and does walkovers along the trail, energetic and quick.
Erik glances up from his place near the fire.
Rosa Yeke says, ~Aye-aye-aye-aiii-I-am bet-tur!~
Erik is dumbfounded. "Uh?"
Rosa Yeke pirrouettes and dances, on toe, leaps, cavorts, seems to fly. She
really is an amazing sight, this Olympian with the power of a Glabro Ahroun.
Erik watches in mute amazement.
Rosa Yeke cartwheels to a stop in front of Erik, ending with a split-leg
landing that should be painfully impossible for anything like a human.
~Ta-da!
Erik startles, jerking back slightly. "Er." He pauses, then claps, hesitantly.
Rosa Yeke's smile disappears. She intones ~A mango blossom is a mango that has
no stone.~ Then, she leaps to her feet. ~Whatcha doin'?~
Erik lets his hands fall back into his lap. "Nothing," he murmurs. "At the
moment."
Rosa Yeke says, ~The Wheel misses play.~
Erik pulls his legs to his chest and sighs. "I'm not allowed in the caern
yet." He pauses, then tilts his head and asks, "Er... your tribal elder. Do
you know how I could reach him? Or her?"
Derrick enters the compound.
Steven enters the compound.
Derrick contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Derrick shifts into Lupus form.
Rosa Yeke does a back handspring. ~Do you mean Rainwalker?~
Erik hesitates again, then nods to Rose.
Steven breaks into the clearing and starts for the fire and his favorite seat.
Erik tenses slightly as Steven passes through his limited field of view, and
ducks his head to the other Fianna.
Falcon's Wing pads in through the trees, snuffling to find out who's been
doing what to where and when. After he's done with that, he pads out of the
trees and whuffles a quiet hello.
Rosa Yeke says, ~You send me to look for him... ~ another back-handspring,
some cartwheels, ~... if you dare.~
Falcon's Wing watches Rose admiringly.
John enters the compound.
Erik ducks his head to Derrick as well before answering Rose. "Er, if he's
busy... I mean, it's not..." The Metis stops, takes a breath, then tries
again. "It's a little matter," he says finally, quietly. "But I do need to
see him." A tilted-head glance at Derrick. "And the other tribal elders as
well."
Steven simply ignores Erik for the most part, as he stops briefly to watch
Rose, his arms akimbo. He shakes his head wonderingly at the gymnastic feats
and continues to move towards the fire.
Rosa Yeke continues her acrobatic cavorting, pirouettes, leaps. ~Are you
afraid of the Uktena?~ she asks Erik, gaity of motion belied by solemn tone.
Falcon's Wing could talk to Holds the Line... Why do you wish to see him?
John pauses near the edge of the clearing, quietly watching the others present.
Erik obviously has no idea how to answer Rose, but replies to Derrick's easier
question. "It's according to the wishes of the Righ. Echen-rhya." He pauses,
then adds, "It's about a song I've been, ah, comissioned to do."
Falcon's Wing looks at Erik curiously. Could I ask of this song, or would you
rather I not?
Erik shrugs, mildly uncomfortable. "It's a teaching song, for the cubs. About
the... the importance of keeping the Veil."
Rosa Yeke stops, still as a sapling on a day with no wind, inverted, standing
on one hand, perfectly balanced. She listens, watches.
Rosa Yeke says, ~Will there be riddles in this song?~
Falcon's Wing cotinues regarding Erik curiously, apparently lacking in
hostility or aggression. Teaching songs are amazingly useful. It is good of
the Righ to want to add to our store of them. Why do you need to talk to
Elders of this, though? He hastens to add, It's not like I need to know or
anyhing. I will certainly tell Holds the Line of you.
Steven stares at Erik with a sneer painted on his face, before he breaks into
a small chuckle, sitting down. His mouth hangs open slightly as he catches
sight of Rose balanced on one hand.
Erik's mask ruins his peripheral vision, and thus the Metis is spared Steven's
sneer, though he probably catches the sound of the chuckel. He answers
Derrick with a vague spreading of his hands. "The Righ said I was to see
each elder and speak to him or her about the matter, and ask permission to
sing it to the tribe's cubs." His tone is nervous, tense and rather abashed,
even shamed.
John drifts back toward the forest.
Falcon's Wing catches Steven's look, and is somewhat surprised. He again
regards Erik with curiosity, and starts to ask, But you're a Galliard,
why... and then stops. He wrinkles his muzzle, and just flicks an ear. Will
talk to my elder.
Erik reaches under the mask, rubbing at the back of his neck, ducking his head
and murmuring thanks to Falcon's Wing. Pushing to his feet, the tall Metis
retreats back into the forest, perhaps to finish the work he was
'commissioned' to write.

[Later that evening...]

It is currently 18:55 Pacific Time on Wed Apr 23 1997.
Currently on this calm and crisp spring twilight in the general St. Claire
area, it is 61 degrees Fahrenheit (16.1 degrees Celsius). The wind is coming
from the north-northeast at 2.3 mph. The ground is normal. Skies are cloudy
with no chance of precipitation.
Currently the moon is in the waning Full Moon phase (90% full).

The Sept Compound(#2075RAM)
Contents:
Seeks-the-Truth
Alexander
Elan
Anne
Steven
Falcon's Wing
Rosa Yeke

Falcon's Wing whuffs a hello to the Lord. ~I'm used to this, mostly. Though
not quite so wet, where I am from.~
Seeks-the-Truth snorts. She is from someplace colder than here. The rain is
nice.
Rosa Yeke shivers, but makes no comment about the weather aloud.
Erik halts at the edge of the compound, obviously nervous at the number of
people here.
Elan makes a gentle wave to Erik, indicating there is room with Falcon's Wing
and himself.
Steven lets his eyes drift off towards the eastern woods. "Excuse me," he says
as he heads off that direction. *Another bit of your perfect timing,* he
calls to Erik in Irish, before he finally disappears between the trees.
Seeks-the-Truth's gaze tracks Steven's exit, and her teeth bare in a grimace
of mild irritation.
Steven leaves the compound.
Alexander glances over at the newcomer, then at Steven as the latter begins
heading out.
Elan looks after Steven curiously and turns to Alexander and Falcon's Wing.
"Did he just call Erik perfect? Huh."
Rosa Yeke leans back a little, as if this would take her out of her displeased
teacher's line of sight.
Falcon's Wing again looks curious at the language used.
Alexander shrugs at Elan. "I don't speak a word."
Erik turns his head, following Steven's exit with his eyes, jumping slightly
at whever the other Fianna said. It does nothing for his composure.
Falcon's Wing would imagine that if he was calling him perfect, it was
sarcastic. I do not speak whatever language that was, though.
with 'Every tribe needs a sekrit language. ;}'.
Elan shrugs. "I know just a little from songs, not too much, and remember even
less. I can sorta get the general sense of it, but he goes too fast for me.
Heh. Only other language I speak is street spanish."
Falcon's Wing speaks that. Though only from school.
Elan skritches Falcon's Wing some more at that. "
Elan says "Yeah? I learned it by and by..""
Falcon's Wing is rather bad at it. Has not had practice.
Rosa Yeke speaks up, softly. ~I speak that language. *Spanish*.~
Falcon's Wing says, ~You speak everything, Rose.~
Elan shrurs. "Something else I can teach ya..." He smiles, then nods to Rosa.
*Eh, senorita?*
Rosa Yeke shakes her head. ~I don't understand the Fianna.~
Alexander speaks up. "Y yo tambien." Then, in English, "I learned from my
dad," he says with a little shrug.
Seeks-the-Truth snorts. No one understands the Fianna.
Falcon's Wing says, ~I was teasing, Rose. I do that to friends.~
Anne gives Seeks-the-Truth a sharp look. "_You_ might not. Maybe that's why
you killed two of them. What is it you don't understand, Rose?"
Rosa Yeke looks blankly between her teacher and Anne. ~I do not know the
language they speak. It sounds pretty.~
Brian enters the compound.
Seeks-the-Truth looks up at Anne with a laughing expression on her face. And
you do?
Seeks-the-Truth rolls over on her back as Brian enters. The Utkena seems to be
in a remarkably good mood as she chuffs to the Alpha. The Fury claims to
understand Fianna. Is this possible?
Anne shrugs casually. "More than I understand the Uktena," she retorts to
Seeks-the-Truth.
Elan looks up at the Alpha and almost makes to say something, but thinks
better of it, seeing how full the Moon is...
Seeks-the-Truth simply beams at Anne. This is good. Very good.
Falcon's Wing, sitting by the fire, whurfs. ~Evening, Echen.~
Anne bares her teeth in a smile. "Of course it is. You were supposed to tell
me stories, weren't you?"
Elan nods to the Righ. "Good evening, sir.."
Alexander says to Seeks-The-Truth, "Maybe no one understands them, but they
certainly aren't alone in that particular prejudice." He hasn't noticed
Brian yet.
Rosa Yeke continues to sit quietly, in shadows near Cyllan.
Scott enters the compound.
Falcon's Wing's lounging near the fire, next to Elan. He's apparently decided
to ignore the conversation and just pay attention to the fire.
Alexander sits near Falcon's Wing and Elan, speaking to Cyllan.
Scott wanders down the trail, hands tucked in his jacket pockets. He seems a
little surprised to see so many people about, stopping to look over the
crowd, briefly, before moving closer.
Erik lingers at the edge of the compound, silently.
Seeks-the-Truth turns to look at Alexander curiously.
Seeks-the-Truth believes that all tribes have their blind spots. All people
for that matter.
Falcon's Wing finally sees Scott, and whuffles a hello.
Elan nods and waves at Scott.
Alexander nods once, pursing his lips. "True enough, I guess. But this is one
that I don't even try to argue any more. It's one wall I'm tired of beating
my head against."
Anne says firmly, "Good. Do that, Alexander. Cyllan? You were going to tell me
stories?"
Alexander glances at Anne, raising his eyebrows, but just then he notices
Scott and waves to his packmate. Whatever he was going to say, if anything,
is forgotten.
Elan pats Falcon's Wing's back. "You wanna go practive that Rite a bit more,
or you wanna lay off for today?"
Falcon's Wing thinks... he wants to lay off. And get osme actual cooked
dinner. Come with?
Elan nods and gets to his feet. "Lead on..."
Falcon's Wing whuffles a goodbye to various and sundry.
Falcon's Wing leaves the compound.
Jessie climbs out of the entrance to the buried shelter nestled among the
trees to the southwest.
Elan leaves the compound.
Rosa Yeke remains near Seeks-the-Truth's tail, quiet and watchful.
Alexander waves to the departing pair, looking back in time to see Jessie
appear. He looks the girl over, not saying anything.
Jessie walks out of the shelter, looking out into the night.
Seeks-the-Truth growls softly to herself as the cub walks out of the shelter.
Since she was not looking at Jessie, it is probably unrelated. With a faint
whimper, the Uktena shuts her eyes tightly and attempts to bury her nose
into the ground.
Anne arches her eyebrows at Seeks-the-Truth's actions. After a moment or two,
she murmurs, "Didn't know asking to hear stories would cause such distress."
Rosa Yeke looks at her teacher, wordlessly.
Jessie starts to walk over to Rosa, but on Seeing Scott stops, pauses, and
walks to the fire. She sits down away from Rosa.
After a few moments, the Utkena wolf pulls her head out from beneath her paws
and snarls. She truly hates when that happens. It hurts.
Anne asks curiously, "What? Burying your nose in dirt?"
Scott gives a small wave to Alexander, and then turns on his heel and heads
out of the compound.
Scott leaves the compound.
Erik shifts his weight from one large foot to the other, then steps further
into the clearing, taking a seat rather apart from the others, his body
language as wary as a deer.
Jessie notes the departure of Scott and looks over at Rosa again.
Alexander addresses Jessie, "How are you adjusting?"
Jessie looks over to Alexander, "I am doing better, mostly..."
Alexander nods. "Good, good." He pauses, squiting a little. "Sorry, I'm bad
with names. I know you're a Silver Fang."
Seeks-the-Truth looks to Anne. No. The confusion left from the Wyld.
Jessie pauses, looking up to Alexander, "I am Jessica, Spirit warrior of the
Silver Fangs."
Anne stays quiet for a moment, then asks, "What confusion?"
Alexander tilts his head. "Spirit warrior?"
Jessie says "It is what Falcon called me, others say Ahroun."
Seeks-the-Truth paws at the dirt on her muzzle as she speaks. Sound becomes
sight. Sight becomes touch.
Alexander ahs softly to himself. "I'm Alexander, also an Ahroun. Of the Shadow
Lords. You may or may not remember, I was there the night you were Cleansed."
Seeks-the-Truth can not explain it better than that. It simply happens. It was
worse in the wyld realm.
Anne whistles lightly. "That's fairly nasty, there. No, I think I understand.
Very nasty. How'd it happen?"
Seeks-the-Truth sits back on her haunches, then shifts into her homid form.
Jessie looks down, saying softly, "I am sorry, I don't remember much about
that night, especially about during the ritual. I was distracted."
Seeks-the-Truth contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Seeks-the-Truth shifts into Homid form.
Erik pulls his legs up to his chest, turning his head to cast his gaze about
the other Garou, a low-level aura of anxiety surrounding him like the cloud
of dust that constantly follows Pigpen. His attention splits between the two
conversations.
Alexander shrugs. "Yeah, me too. I was also in wolf form that night, so you
probably wouldn't recognize me like this anyway. So what the hell happened
to make you like that?"
Cyllan flips her hair out of her face. Her nose is still muddy from her lupus
actions, and she bats at the dirt idly. "You wanted a story, Anne. This will
have to do for right now."
Rosa Yeke looks up at her teacher, patiently attentive.
Jessie looks back at Rosa, pausing, thinking, then looks back to Alexander, "I
would rather not talk about it, it makes some mad."
Alexander chuckles softly. "I'll bet it does," is all he says. He flashes the
girl a tight-lipped smile.
Seeker looks over at Cyllan.
Anne settles herself comfortably on the ground, legs outstretched and crossed
at the ankles, leaning back on her hands. Her dark eyes focus on Cyllan with
obvious curiousity.
Jessie tilts her head, then looks around the compound, as if looking for
something or someone.
"Gauntlet went with Whispers to the Sept of the Stars, looking for a way to
stop Dylan's aging," begins the philodox Utkena. "The Elder of the sept
showed us a path that would lead to the place where we would be able to
correct the problem. On the way we passed through a Wyld Realm -- well, we
passed through a number of places, but this is the relevant one. It changed
our forms slightly. Tess blanked out, Sepdet started shifting forms at
random, Dylan dissolved into a pool of liquid, my senses got jumbled...and I
don't know what happened to the others, if anything. It went
away...mostly...when we left the realm. It only happens maybe once or twice
a week and usually not all that often."
Rosa Yeke listens to this story, spellbound, in darkness.
Anne asks curiously, "Does Dylan still turn into a pool of liquid?"
Erik tilts his head slightly, turning shadowed green eyes toward the Philodox
Uktena.
Cyllan lifts one shoulder. "I have not seen him do so."
Anne's eyes flick upwards. "It's be _really_ amusing to see," she says. "Did
you do anything there, or just pass through?"

[Really bad net-night. Some missing.]

Jessie seems to be listening to the story, but watching the fire.
Anne chuckles slightly but says nothing in response to that.
Cyllan doesn't seem inclined to add anything to the story unless otherwise
asked.
Rosa Yeke fades away into the shadows, eventually leaving the compound,
slipping out in silence.
Rosa Yeke has disconnected.
Jessie quietly gets up and goes to the shelter.
Jessie walks around the length of the low mound in the southwest edge of the
clearing, ducks down, and disappears from view.
Cyllan glances at Anne to see if she has any more questions to ask.
Dusty strolls quietly down the trail, running a hand through his hair, not
much caring for stealth. He looks up as he approaches the compound, and
immediately withdraws into the long shadows the evening creates over the
trees as he sees other people around.
Soren enters the compound.
Anne shakes her head slightly as Cyllan looks at her. "That's all I get today,
huh?"
Soren enters the compound along the normal trail, quiet as usual. After a
momentary pause at the edge of the compound, he walks to the fire and finds
a place to sit, nodding a simple greeting.
Erik lifts his head to glance at the new arrivals, then hugs his knees closer
to his chest, silent and withdrawn.
Cyllan looks at Anne. "The moon is full. I sleep in Gauntlet's house tonight,
and have nearly four hours to run before I reach it. There are patrols that
I must walk and spirits that I must seek out before I sleep tonight."
Something in her tone is slightly reprimanding as she says, "I am sorry this
does not satisfy you, but it is really all I have to offer. Perhaps tomorrow
I will have thought of another tale to tell you."
Anne's own voice is full of reproof. "Of course, of course. It should not be
so hard to think of stories of what you've done since then, if you are ready
to challenge as you think. But if you must patrol, you will need to go soon,
yes. Good evening to you, then."
Soren glances over at Erik as he sits not far from the masked newcomer. The
Get theurge opens his satchel and withdraws a simple pouch, taking from it
the makings of a meal: jerky, some sort of white tuber, and a packet of
nuts. After crunching on a tuber, he looks back at Erik. "Hungry?"
Cyllan's temper finally snaps as she says to Anne. "Look. If you don't think
I'm ready to challenge, go tell Joseph. Or tell me. Otherwise, lay off my
case, okay?"
Dusty has come in by the northwestern trail, and holds his position standing
quietly in the shadows, not invisible but probably hoping not to be noticed.
Cyllan begins heading down the path, feet pounding into the trail as she
leaves the compound.
Erik jerks slightly, as if startled to be addressed. Turning his head to look
at Soren, he regards the Get with shadowed eyes and then, hesitantly, nods.
Anne retorts, voice hardening a little, "I'm not saying you're not ready to
challenge. I'm saying I want to know what's happened, because _I_ haven't
heard and I _know_ things happen I haven't heard about, and I _want_ to
hear."
Brian leaves the compound.
Cyllan doen't respond.
Cyllan goes home.
Soren glances over at the altercation, only briefly, before motioning at the
simple meal he has spread atop the satchel. "Help yourself. Watch the
horseradish though. Can be a bit strong for some people. Jerky's good
though." Soren takes a bite of the horseradish, its fragrance fresh in the
air.
Anne snorts as Cyllan leaves. "She's not," she announces to the air, "ready
yet."
Erik nods again and accepts some of the offered meal, taking little and
watching the Get Theurge with some wariness.
Soren pulls the horseradish from his mouth. "Found this along the northeastern
edge of the bawn. Grow wild beneath a bluff up there." He takes another
crunch, looking over at Anne. "Help yourself, m'am." Soren looks into the
fire. "Should be some wild asparagus ready too not far from there. If you
can stomach it."
Erik lowers his head slightly, the tuber vanishing under the cloth mask.
As the air clears and the altercation seems to be over, Dusty quietly ventures
out of the shadows and closer to the fire, though he doesn't sit down yet.
His guitar case is in its usual place over his shoulder.
Soren stiffens slightly as the new figure walks in from the woods, his eye(s)
narrowing slightly. "Who are you?"
Anne shakes her head at Soren. "No thanks," she says, although the tone is
more polite than might be expected of an angry Galliard under full moon.
"Not hungry, I ate earlier." She echoes Soren's question, but directs it at
Erik. "Who're you?"
Erik swallows hastily, coughs, then answers the Black Fury with a slightl duck
of his head. "Erik Sings-in-Shadow, Galliard of the Fianna."
Dusty stops dead in his tracks at Soren's question, and takes a step backward
as if it hit him full in the face. He is silent for a moment, then manages
to stammer, "Um....Dusty...Gaian Galliard...um, I used to be a child of
Weasel..."
Anne nods slightly at Erik, attention already drawn to Dusty. "I'm Anne,
Galliard of the Furies. Elder of the Furies, too," she says absently to Erik.
Soren looks again at Dusty and then simply nods. "Packmate of Alec?"
Erik swallows again around a dry throat, then gets up and leaves the compound
as quietly and unobtrusively as one can when one is six-foot-six.