Fetching a Pumonca

[hazlogs]

[Date: 2 December 1996]

You paged Alexander with 'I had just let you into the cabin and you were 
  telling me something about the caern situation and why you were looking for 
  one of my kind, or something.'.
Alexander pages: Let's just start over from when I walked into the cabin? It's 
  been too long.

Bianca steps aside to let the Garou in, wary curiosity sketched onto her face. 
  The interior of the cabin is small and in some disrepair, but the fireplace 
  burns merrily and brightly.
Alexander says "Cougar didn't exactly send me, though she did guide me to you. 
  I decided to go looking on my own, though."
Bianca leans against the door to close it and moves toward the fire, taking up 
  a long branch that she's obviously been using for a poker. She crouches 
  down, poking some of the half-burnt notepaper pages into the heart of the 
  blaze. "Go on."
Alexander leans against the door as he speaks. "Well, like I said, we asked 
  Cougar how we could make her stronger at our Caern. At least to put her 
  equal with the other Caern totems. She said we'd have to increase her 
  presence in the area, but spiritual and physical. So my pack and I journeyed 
  to her Realm, explained what the Caern's totem had told us, and asked for 
  her help. She sent two of her warriors back with us. They're running in the 
  mountains east of us now."
Bianca sits back on her heels and pushes her glasses up her nose, interested. 
  "Spirits?"
Alexander nods. "Yeah, spirits. You've heard of them?"
Bianca picks up the notebook lying on the floor next to her and rips out a few 
  more pages, crumpling them up for the fire. "Of course."
Alexander nods once, firmly. "OK then. So we brought them back with us. But 
  Cougar also said we needed to introduce living cougars to the area. This 
  was... more difficult."
You say "Why?"
Alexander says "Well, in the first place, because it's easier to convince a 
  spirit than an animal to come with you someplace new. In the second place, 
  the sudden appearance of spirits doesn't attract the attention of humans."
Bianca smirks faintly. "So you decided to go find yourself a Bastet?"
Alexander smiles wryly as he scratches at one ear. "Well, it did seem easiest, 
  for several reasons. First, easier to talk to. Second, one would presumably 
  know how to not attact attention. Third, if you did breed, which is what 
  we're all hoping for eventually, the cubs would have a much better chance of 
  surviving with a shifter parent."
Bianca wrinkles her nose slightly. "Very logical," she says, dryly. "And 
  what's in it for me, exactly?"
Alexander looks around. "Well, first, a nicer place to live. The Rockies start 
  just east of the edge of our bawn, and there aren't any cougars living there 
  right now. You'd have the whole place to yourself. And your mate, if you 
  chose to take one. You'd have to stay off the bawn itself, at least at 
  first. People get edgy still, sometimes. But no one would bother you in the 
  mountains."
Bianca sits down, crosslegged, poking idly at the fire. "Are you sure of that? 
  Just how many Garou are there in that area?"
Alexander says "A lot. Which is why, at least at first, you'd have to stay out 
  of the woods. But I figure you wouldn't miss that much. I know some would 
  want to come meet you. Some would want to stay away from you. But I can't 
  think of any that would actively want to hunt you down. We're not that kind 
  of Sept. And if there are, they'll have to get through a lot of other people 
  long before they reach you."
Mirth sparks in the woman's eyes. "Garou bodyguards. Cute." She picks up the 
  notebook, pulling out the last few pages with writing on them and sending 
  them into the flames.
Alexander says "So, would you be interested?"
Bianca pokes at the fire, stirring the ashes and making sure everything gets 
  well and truly burned. She's silent for several moments. Finally, she says, 
  "All right. Where did you say this was?"
Alexander says "St. Claire, Washington."
Bianca thinks a moment, frowning. "St. Claire, St. Claire... you mean near the 
  national park?"
Alexander nods. "Yeah. We're on the northern edge of the park."
Bianca chews on a thumbnail, brow furrowed. "And you're sure there are no 
  other Pumonca in that area? Sure you didn't simply miss one?"
Alexander shakes his head. "You were the *nearest* one. I asked Cougar 
  herself."
Bianca hrms. "Interesting." She falls silent again, poking at the fire. "All 
  right," she says at last. "We can leave soon as this is done."
Alexander nods once. After a moment, he asks, "What is it you're burning?"
Bianca smirks, as if she'd been waiting for him to ask that. "My memoirs."
Alexander says "Then isn't burning them kind of counter-productive?"
Bianca shrugs. "It's not as though I can risk having them found, can I?"
Alexander says "Well, no, but the whole point is to hae them there for later."
Bianca shakes her head. "Not always." She gives the fire another few poeks and 
  then stands, satisfied that all has been turned into ash.
Alexander claps his hands together. "OK then. Just let me know when you're 
  ready."
Bianca glances at the Garou, lips curved into a faint smirk. Leaning the burnt 
  stick against the fireplace, she wanders toward the bed, gathering together 
  a small collection of books and things into a dufflebag. "Do me a favor and 
  douse that fire, would you? Thanks."
Alexander does so with a bit of water.
Bianca heaves the battered duffle over her shoulder and heads for the door. 
  "How'd you get here anyway? By foot?"
Alexander nods. "I ran the whole way, yeah. Some in the Umbra, some in the 
  Realm."
Bianca pushes the door open, lugging her bag toward the red and white pickup 
  truck parked outside. "Do you like the Indigo Girls?"
Alexander raises his eyebrows as he follows the woman out. "Um, never really 
  listened to them...."
Bianca laughs, jerking the cab door open, and climbs inside. "You're in luck 
  then. I just got my hands on some new bootlegs. Hop in."
Alexander rolls his eyes, but only a little. He jumps into the cab of the 
  truck and pulls the door shut, then puts on his seat belt.
The truck starts with a loud, aged sound, and almost immediately a blast of 
  static erupts from the radio. With a gesture born of reflex, Bianca shoves 
  in the tape, sets the battered vehicle in gear, and moves 'em out, driving 
  with an apparently reckless manner that doesn't think very highly of speed 
  limits.

Alexander pages: OK. I think we can handwave the rest. TC would call Cerberus 
  out to meet you, and have Scott sniff you for Wyrm in the process. Assuming 
  you pass, you're given the run of the mountains to do what you want, but 
  wanrned once again to stay out of the woods for a while.
Long distance to Alexander: Bianca has no Wyrm taint, and anyway would 
  probably disappear for several days while staking out her territory and 
  doing the Rite of Claiming.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TC returns to town on Monday afternoon, Bianca in tow. He calls to the pack to 
  meet them in the mountains, to come and meet the latest arrival. While he's 
  at it, he'll ask Scott to check her for Wyrm and make sure she's safe. Since 
  she is, he'll be satisfied. He gives her a warning not to go into the woods 
  and, unless anyone has anything further, heads for home. 
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