The Pumonca and the Sept Alpha

[hazlogs]

In the Mountains: Den-Realm(#4050RJ$)
By the Waterfall
The roar and crash of falling water fills the air. Spilling down from a height 
  of fifteen feet, the cold mountain water is churned into white froth on the 
  rocks below. The air is heady with the smell of fresh water, wet rock, and 
  damp earth. Heady, too, with the smell of greenery during the warm season, 
  sharp with snow and frost during the cold months. But the water never 
  freezes. The violence of the waterfall's action is too strong for the biting 
  temperatures. (+views set)
The land rises up in a climb of slippery rocks to the apex of the waterfall. 
  Following the river's flow downstream, the watery thunder becomes quiet, the 
  churning activity less. Trees surround the area, reaching tall into the sky. 
  There is no sign of humanity or humanity's doings, anywhere.
Obvious exits:
Rocky Path  

Alexander escorts the Alpha to the edge of the Bastet's territory and gives 
  three short howls, which are answered by a couple of feline screams in the 
  distance. Only then does the Guardian lead Brian to what is, apparently, a 
  common meeting place.
Brian wears his klaive openly, but keeps his hands thrust into his coat 
  pockets as he waits in the cold.
Bianca drops down from a tree, feet hitting the earth with a slight thump. She 
  exchanges a glance with Alexander, who nods and heads off to give the pair 
  some privacy. Then she turns toward Brian, head slightly tilted. "Hi."
Brian looks the woman up and down for a few moments, then pulls his hands from 
  his coat pockets and folds his arms across his chest, as much to keep warm 
  as anything. "So you're her."
Bianca grins crookedly, hands stuffed deep into her pockets. "And you're him."
Brian lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "More or less, yeah," he says. "I'm 
  Brian." To one familiar with the Garou, he's certainly laconic for a Fianna; 
  he extends a hand as if to shake.
Bianca takes the offered hand, grasping it firmly, head tilted to smile up at 
  the Garou. "Bianca." He releases his hand after a moment and steps back, 
  arms folding across her chest. "'Lex mentioned your folks have some 
  concerns."
"'Lex," Brian says quietly, musingly, with a hint of a smirk. This moment of 
  jocularity fades abruptly, though and he nods in answer to the statement. "I 
  don't see why we should be letting you put up your little fort up here, 
  Cougar's blessing aside. So I'm here to give you a chance to convince me."
Bianca raises an eyebrow. "'My little fort'?" Her expression turns wry. "And a 
  chance to convince you, too. Difficult, since I'm not sure what the problem 
  really is." Her manner is pleasant, even friendly. "This area isn't claimed 
  by your people. It's not even patrolled very much -- if at all."
Brian shrugs his shoulders. "Some of the wolf-kin range out this far, so the 
  Red Talons do too. But that's not really the point. I'm asking you why. 'Why 
  not' is a fair answer, but not a very satisfying one."
Bianca's casual manner fades; underneath it, her eyes are serious and somber. 
  "'Most planets are quarries,'" she replies, as though quoting. "'Earth is 
  precious.'"
Brian wrinkles his nose slightly. "Why'd you do this to this place, anyways? 
  What good is it for you?"
Bianca sighs. "Look at it this way. You have a pack, right?"
"Yes," Brian answers, at once suspicious and defensive.
Bianca says, "They're your family, right? You felt lost before you had a pack, 
  and without them you wouldn't be yourself. Your soul is in that pack... in 
  your totem. Right?"
There's a certain amount of truth to everything that Bianca says, and it's 
  reflected in Brian's features. He nods slowly.
Bianca lays a hand on the tree next to her. "And this is part of mine. The 
  Rite of Claiming can only be done /once/ in all a Bastet's life. We don't do 
  it lightly. And true wilderness is rare these days." There's an honesty in 
  her words an expression. "This land is part of myself now. Nothing will harm 
  it. No one will taint it, not while I live."
Brian's expression hardens slightly, and his next question bares a hint of 
  accusation. "But why *here*? Of all the places in the world, why was it so 
  important for you to set up your little fort fifteen miles away from us? 
  What do you have going on up here that you need to be so close to the Wheel?"
Bianca rubs the back of her neck. "I've been over most of this continent since 
  I was sixteen or so, looking for a home," she says at last, looking up at 
  him. Her tone is candid. "I don't really care much for cities, and I'd 
  rather not deal with humans every day. Unfortunately, there isn't much left 
  in the way of wilderness." She lets her arm drop, pushing her hands back 
  into her pockets. "Your guardians assured me that my presence was needed 
  somehow, and that the place I picked was far enough away that it wouldn't 
  interfere with you." No tone of accusation, not even enforced calm. Neither 
  does she seem to be pulling some kind of superiority attitude. "I don't 
  intend your Sept harm. I don't plan on hunting down your caern or 
  interfering with your pups. I ask little more than to be left alone, and a 
  little neighborly courtesy, since I think it'd make everyone's life easier, 
  especially my own." This last is delivered with the hint of a 
  self-depreciating grin. "But I'm not really sure how to 'convince' you. Do 
  you want a pledge? Some kind of oath?"
Brian glances down and to one side, a look of faint disgust reaching his 
  features. "The boys probably got carried away," he sighs. "Here's the deal. 
  The caern -- the Wheel -- has three totem spirits. One of them's Cougar. 
  Cerberus follows Cougar for their pack totem. And they naturally think she's 
  the best thing since the invention of the wheel, and wouldn't steer them 
  wrong, no way, no how." Slowly, almost reluctantly, he looks back towards 
  Bianca and meets her eyes. "Cougar was lost to the Wheel for a long time. So 
  she and the boys come up with this idea to 'make her influence stronger', 
  whatever the hell that means. So they dragged in a bunch of Cougar spirits, 
  and you."
Bianca wrinkles her nods slightly and nods, leaning against a tree. "Lex said 
  it was something like that. Silly me, I assumed they'd gotten approval or 
  something." She exhales. "I wasn't lying when I said I can only do this 
  ritual once, and that this bit of land means as much to me as part of my own 
  self. I can't just pick up and move on, y'see." She pushes her glasses up 
  her nose. "We can come to some kind of understanding, maybe?"
Brian lifts his shoulder in a shrug. "They said they'd be trying to bring a 
  Bastet back with them. I figured they'd give me a heads-up if they really 
  did, and again if she started making a nest."
Bianca gestures vaguely. "Mixed signals. Lovely."
It is after a few minutes of silent thought that Brian runs a hand back 
  through his hair; absently, he flips the hem of his coat over his sheathed 
  klaive, concealing the weapon beneath heavy fabric. "I'm a full moon," he 
  says. "Which means I don't have any way or talent at figuring out whether 
  you're telling the truth or making this whole thing up. What I do know is 
  that the few other Bete I've run into have preferred to work for their own 
  interests, or against us, rather than try to cooperate with us. The *Mages* 
  I've known have been more trustworthy and cooperative. I'd love to believe 
  you're different than the rest. But I've got a lot of prejudice built up." 
  He pauses there, then confesses, "The one thing you do have going for you is 
  that I can afford to take you at face value for at least the time being. 
  I've got nearly a hundred Garou down there. I'm sure I could find at least 
  ten who'd be willing to risk Cougar's curse by coming up here and either 
  chasing you away or killing you. So if you really do want to live and let 
  live, then let's experiment with it for a while. Just keep in mind that 
  you've got nervous neighbors who carry a big stick."
Bianca smiles wryly, her body uncoiling from its tension. "More than fair."
Again, Brian runs a hand back through his hair; it might strike Bianca that 
  this is a mannerism born from nervousness or discomfort. "I'm not usually 
  this much of an asshole," he mutters next. "This just came at a bad time. 
  We've got at least two other problems in the Shadow around here."
Bianca watches the Irishman with a frankness in her brown eyes, not 
  unfriendly. "Understandable."
Brian lifts his shoulders in an uncomfortable shrug and stuffs his hands back 
  into his pockets. "I guess I'll head back, now, and leave you to whatever it 
  is that you do up here."
Bianca smiles, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "Walk safe."