The Prim Ronin Lady

[hazlogs]

It is currently 09:15 Pacific Time on Sat Jun 21 1997.
Currently the moon is in the waning Full Moon phase (93% full).

Forgotten Church(#1801RAJLM)
        The old church is dark, dimly lit by outside light coming in through 
  scum-encrusted windows during the day, and tomblike during the night. There 
  is a coatroom in the back of the nave, with separate doors leading off to 
  mens' and womens' restrooms, and two staircases, one going up to the balcony 
  and bell-tower, and the other leading down to the basement. The double doors 
  leading out to the street are at the back of the coatroom.
        The hard wooden pews in the sanctuary are, for the most part, still 
  intact. There are even Bibles and hymnals left in the shelves along the back 
  of each row, although many of them look rather chewed on. The altar on a 
  dais at the front of the church is empty, and the lectern that once stood 
  next to it has been knocked over. Rotting red cloth hangs at the very front 
  of the church; there might once have been a design on it, but it has long 
  since faded or been eaten away.

Hershey pokes her muzzle into the chuch, blocky muzzle low to the ground, wet 
  nose snuffling about.
Raven smiles, stepping forward gratefully to accept the offerings. "You're 
  very kind, Elan. I'll repay you as soon as able."
Hershey lifts her head, shaggy ears moving forward. She lets out a low 'wuff' 
  and ambles in, the white-tipped tail lifting slightly in a half-husky curl. 
  Yo.
Elan chuckles. "Well, I ... " He looks over at the canid, and narrows his 
  eyes. "Huh. Hey, girl.. com'ere.." He pats his thigh, beconing the strange 
  dog, then steps back as it speaks the Wolf Tounge. "Hi," He says cautiously.
Hershey tilts her head, appearing to squint at Elan. You're Shakes' buddy, 
  ain't'cha?
Raven glances down to the dog, a bit unsure of how to proceed, just yet, 
  holding Elan's basket of stuff in both hands, hairbrush dangling between two 
  fingers.
Elan nods, still a bit uncertain. "Uh..introduction? I'm Elan Dunblaine, 
  Shadow Eyes, Cliath Crescent Mon of the Bone Gnawers. Member of Cavall, and 
  Child of Dog."
Elan says "Shakes is my bud, yeah."
Hershey sits down and scratches at her neck with a hind paw. Hershey Kisses, 
  Bone Gnawer Halfmoon. I saw ya at the riot. (Her head swings, muzzle and 
  nose pointing now at Raven.) Is that the Ronin?
Raven nods. "I am Raven DeChamps, Ronin of no tribe, and Cliath, but unworthy 
  of that rank, I am to submit to all. My name as Ronin is Raventail."
Elan gives a quick grin as Hershey mentions her tribe, and nods in Raven's 
  direction. "Cool. Now I remember Shakes talking about you. Said you were 
  pretty cool, you know?" He looks to the ground a bit, then meets the 
  mongrel's eyes. "So, you were on Bridge Street too, huh? You come out OK?"
Hershey gets up and pads around Raven, poking her nose at the woman and 
  sniffing at her, boldly, as dogs are wont to do. Her tail lifts higher, and 
  she bumps into the Ronin's legs with a kind of rough, casual amibility. 
  Ronin of no tribe? That's a redundant, chica. So. How come you're Ronin? 
  What'd you do that was so bad that even the Children of Gaia won't take you?
Hershey isn't looking at Elan, so it's kinda hard to meet her eyes.
Elan tries to hide a smile, at that.
Raven lets a quiet, "Riot?" hang in the air, glancing at Elan, then down to 
  the mongrel to catch her question. She replies, "My life began when my new 
  name and Ronin nature were given to me. I have no past before that. Any 
  crime that may have been comitted was by another, not me. As for the 
  Children of Gaia, I have yet met one on my travels. Of course, this assumes 
  I wish to rejoin a tribe at all, rather than enjoy my newfound freedom."
Not a good answer, as evidenced by a lifted lip and a low, rumbly growl. 
  Evasion, huh? You think bein' tribeless is freedom, huh? Maybe you abandoned 
  your pack when they needed you. Maybe you're a maneater, who knows?
Elan sits on a relatively clean spot of floor. "I.. don't think so, Hershey. 
  Doesn't seem like her. Or who she was, at any rate."
Hershey swings her head over toward Elan. Oh? You know her, bro?
Raven nods. "No one, actually. As I said, my old life is no more. I am simply 
  Raven, and ROnin, now. I have no past, no family, nothing." She glances to 
  Elan, with a slight scowl, at the bit about who she was, but drops it to 
  look, again, to the mongrel. "Trusting a Ronin is not easy, but all I can 
  ask is that you trust me. I am here, I brought chiminage, and I will work to 
  feed as many as I can while allowed to stay. If your leader wishes me gone, 
  then so be it. I cannot disobey."
Hershey remains rather aggressive as she keeps close to the Ronin Garou. 
  Ignoring Raven's reply, she waits for explanation from her tribe-brother.
Elan says "A bit. Enough to give her the benefit of the doubt, tribemate." He 
  shrugs at Raven, at the scowl, then turns his attention back to Hershey. 
  "Shakes gave her shelter, here, since this place is ours, and in our turf." 
  He leans against a disused pew."
Hershey sits down again, scratching vigorously behind one shaggy ear. The 
  grimy Philodox answers after a few moments. What you do on your turf is your 
  business, yeah. (Her attention swings toward Raven, her canine expression 
  hard.) Shakes speaks for you, and Shadow Eyes here. I trust them 'cos 
  they're brothers, but I don't trust you. You got no past, no name, no ties, 
  no loyalties. Nothing. I'm gonna be watchin' you, bitch.
Elan nods at his tribemate. "So, Hershey. How come you came to St, Claire?"
Raven nods to the mongrel. "I expect no less. I give you my word I will not 
  betray that trust that is given me. I only wish I could offer more." She 
  keeps her eyes low, each time she speaks, differing to the Gnawers both as 
  higher in rank.
Hershey sneezes and pads away from Raven, wagging her tail as she bumps into 
  Elan's legs. From stone to fur in ten seconds flat, and now she's as 
  friendly as can be. Toward the other Gnawer, anyway. Oh, heh. Mom said you 
  guys needed a good Halfmoon out here. You ever been to the Green?
Elan shakes his head, giving his tribemate a gentle scritch behind the ears, 
  such familiarity coming easily to him. "Heard about it, certainly...sounds 
  like a really cool place."
Hershey's muzzle drops open, tongue lolling. If a mutt could be said to have a 
  NYC accent, she's got one. Oh, yeah, it's great. This place seems pretty 
  cool, too, even if the pizza isn't nearly the way it should be. But it's 
  cool.
Elan looks up at Raven. "Left some stuff for you, there." He scritches Hershey 
  some more. "You finding everything here? Not as big a place as you're used 
  to, I'm sure. I came from San Francisco and Seattle, so it seems that way 
  sometimes, to me."
Raven continues to brush out her wet hair, now that she seems less the focus 
  of attention. When it's brought up, she glances through the basket with on 
  hand, taking out some honey-baked deli ham. "Oh, this is quite kind of you. 
  Thank you, Elan."
Hershey seems to shrug. The Ronin may not exist, it seems, for all the 
  attention the mongrel puts toward her. I'm cool. Been talkin' to Uncle 
  Chugs. Mom told me ta find some guy named Father Mac, but seems he's dead, 
  an' his pack too. That sucks.
Elan smiles at Raven. "You're welcome. It's just what Gnawers do. We bring 
  food." He bruches his fingers through Hershey's fur a bit. "Yeah. I've heard 
  the names and such, but I didn't know 'em. I'm new, really. Been here since 
  late January, so I'm still finding out stuff. I guess I should ask Hank."
Raven takes some bread out as well, slowly assembling a sandwhich. "I had 
  always thought you received, not gave. The shortage of food has always been 
  what kept so many of your tribe lean and spry, a hunger on many levels. But, 
  I could be mistaken."
Hershey pauses to chew at an itch on her flank. Her fur leaves a nive grimy, 
  greasy feel on Elan's fingers. She wonders, idly, where Shadow Eyes got so 
  much food.
Elan nods, giving a slight smile. "We came into some good fortune awhile back, 
  so we're just spreading it around. Never know when it'll up and disappear on 
  us." He continues to scritch, not seeming to mind the grime. "Well, Hershey. 
  we have a full fridge." He says this like other people would say 'we have a 
  hundred thousand in the bank'. "Jimmy's a damn good Alpha to us. We get 
  pretty much all the food we need, right now. He.." His voice drops, 
  reverent, "He owes part of a cafe."
Hershey suddenly jerks her head back, a bit of a startled growl escaping her. 
  He owns /what/?
Raven glances over at that, smiles softly, then returns to her careful asembly.
Elan looks at Hershey. "He owns part of a restaurant. We can help a lot of 
  people, that way." He shrugs. "Like I said, it all sort of fell in our laps. 
  So we're making sure Gnawers get what they can while it lasts."
Raven nods. "That makes sense. Money's only paper, but food keeps you alive. 
  Better to have stuff than cash."
Hershey snorts, huffing air through the overhanging fur on her blocky muzzle, 
  ears flat back against her head. She gives Raven a frowning look. Money's 
  more than just paper, birdie-girl. Cash is evil.
Raven nods, barely, to the mongrel. "Nessessary at time, tho. I can't, and 
  won't, rely on the good graces of your tribe to keep feeding me. That's 
  going from guest to nuisance, and your own come before a Ronin. With luck, 
  I'll be working at the coffeshop-diner that ELan and BJ found me at. Not 
  much pay, but it'll keep me in food, and maybe a roof over my head, long 
  enough."
Elan snorts at the mention of money. "Well, we don't have jobs, at all. Guy 
  died, and was a friend, you know. Almost a packmate. He left us the place, 
  and the share in the business. Jimmy just parcels it out, best he can."
Hershey paces restlessly, now circling Elan. Lemme tell ya something I know 
  about the green stuff, brother. Somethin' I learned from a smart ol' 
  Grandfather back at the Green. Pigeon Man.
Elan nods, listening. "Go on, Hershey."
Hershey stops and lifts her head, ears forward. A Bone Gnawer's approximation 
  of nobility - nobility in mutthood. Pigeon Man, see, he had this canny 
  spirit bonded into an old dollar coin. Called it the Honest Buck. This 
  spirit could sniff out taint, an' everytime Pigeon Man got his paws on some 
  cash, he'd show it to the Honest Buck, and the Buck could tell if that cash 
  was tainted or not. See, money-taint ain't able to be sniffed by folks 
  normally, but the spirit in the Buck's smart, and it can tell if some green 
  stuff's been used for bad shit. (A dramatic pause.) Pigeon Man tol' me that 
  in all his years - an' he was an /old/ geezer - he never met more than maybe 
  five bucks total that was honest. (With a snort, she breaks the pose and 
  scratches behind her ear.) Necessary? Momma Rat teaches her children how to 
  scavenge what they need. How to make nourishin' food from junk. Rituals to 
  make a cardboard box waterproof an' warm for the night. There ain't nothin' 
  you can get with cash that Momma can't provide better, and if it can only be 
  got with cash, you don't need it. Probably bad for you anyway.
Elan nods. "Most cash is like that. But this was a gift, from a man who was a 
  very good friend. Gotta honor the wishes of the dead, y'know, or they come 
  back for you. I'm Crescent, and I've seen a lot of that shit."
Hershey thinks you should be careful, anyway. We're Bone Gnawers, not fuckin' 
  Glass Walkers or freakin' Silver Fangs.
Raven nods. "Moma Rat doesn't take too kindly to strangers, however. I don't 
  think she'd teach me what she teaches you." She shushes up, however, at 
  Hershey's second bit.
Hershey turns her head and attention toward Raven. Momma Rat takes in those 
  who prove worthy. If they really want to learn. If /you/ really wanted to 
  learn what it means to be a Gnawer, I could teach you.
Raven nods. "I appreciate it, but I don't know if I could. I'm just not ready 
  to call another tribe my own, yet. I... need time to think. Does that make 
  sense?"
Hershey moves her shoulders in a dog's approximation of a shrug. You wanna 
  live in the city, right? No one but a Gnawer can teach you that, and I grew 
  up in parts of the Apple that would turn a Shadow Lord white as a Fang.
Elan idly scritches Hershey. He looks up at Raven. "She's right. Mama comes to 
  anyone who needs her." He smiles at Hershey. "St. Claire's got places like 
  that. And most of em' are in our patrol range,"
Hershey lolls her tongue at Elan, then looks at Raven. Well? You up for it, 
  birdie?
Raven waffles. She sets her hairbrush down, and bites her lip. "Can I have 
  time to think about it? A day or two, at least."
Raven has disconnected.
Elan scratches Hershey a bit more. "You wanna take a run around the place, 
  sometime?"
Raven has connected.
Hershey gazes at Raven, not at all surprised by the waffling. The woman /is/ 
  one of the tribeless, after all.
Elan stretches, and stands, then drops to all fours.
Elan contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Elan sparkles and blurs, shifting into Lupus form.
Raven glances nervously about, in case anyone had been by. Clearly, she's not 
  familiar with the immediate territory.
Hershey glances at Elan, but... well, it's his turf, after all. She scratches 
  at her neck again.
Raven quietly eats her Gnawer-supplied meal, letting the other go about their 
  business.
Shadow Eyes whuffles. No one comes by here. Most people have forgotten it even 
  exists. I simply wanted to run as a wolf for a bit. Hew pads up to check out 
  Hershey some more. So. It has been a long journey for you? You must have had 
  many adventures on the way here.
Hershey runs a tongue over her chops, idly. Adventures? No, not really.
Shadow Eyes wags his tail. It must have been interesting, coming here all the 
  way from the other ocean. He pads around a bit. Want me to show you places 
  to eat?
Raven nods to that, and falls quiet as she thinks.
Hershey tilts her head, regarding Elan with unfocussed eyes. Sure. Depends on 
  what kinda places you mean.
Shadow Eyes absently scritches his ear. There is a place at the edge of our 
  patrol range, that throws out a very good garlic sauce.
At the words 'throws out', Hershey wags her tail, relaxing slightly. Sounds 
  great. Heh. Had me worried there for a moment, bro.
Shadow Eyes, unsure of how to say 'pizza' in the wolf tounge, continues. Ah, 
  they also get rid of salami, and olives, and other things.
Hershey pushes her nose into Elan's flank, sniffing. You mean a pizza place? 
  Hey, bro, where'd you learn woofspeech?
Shadow Eyes sniffs Hershey, also. Um, Coggies. He whuffles a bit at this. They 
  did not go to many pizza places, near Western Eye. That was my first sept. 
  He noses her some more, checking out the scents of her journey like her fur 
  is a roadmap.
Hershey bumps roughly against the other Gnawer. Ah, figures. Hang out wit' me. 
  am
Hershey bumps roughly against the other Gnawer. Ah, figures. Hang out wit' me, 
  a' I teach'ya to talk right.
Shadow Eyes gives Hershey a playful nip. It is good to have another Gnawer 
  around. We are so few, in this city. Shakes is a most excellent Alpha, and 
  has taught me a lot. But it is good to talk to another. He realizes he's 
  been leaving out Raven. He inclines his muzzle to her. Would you want to 
  take Hershey up on her offer? You could come eat with us?
Hershey swings her head around to fix Raven with chocolate-dark eyes.
Raven opens her mouth, pauses, closes it again, then pauses. "Well, thanks to 
  you, I've already just eaten, and I'm sure there are many of your tribe in 
  the city who need it more than I. I wouldn't want to deny them their 
  favorite sauce because I was greedy and took more than my fair share."
Shadow Eyes bumps Hershey. I think she will learn. Do you want me to show you 
  this place? I know others, of course.
Hershey snorts, half-amused, and bets aloud that Raven's old tribe was one of 
  the stuffy ones. Shadow Lord, she bets. The mutt flickers an ear and turns 
  back to nose Elan. Actually, I gotta go check out something further 
  downtown. Promise I made my mom.
Shadow Eyes whuffles. That is OK. Promises must be kept, especially to Kin. I 
  will see you later?
Hershey whrufs. Kin? Ginsu-Claws is a guardian of the Green, member of the 
  Streetsharks, full Ahroun. But whatever. See ya later. You too, birdie-girl.