Cultural Differences

[hazlogs]

It is currently 11:57 Pacific Time on Sat Apr 26 1997.
Currently on this gusty and crisp spring late morning in the general St.
Claire area, it is 61 degrees Fahrenheit (16.1 degrees Celsius). The wind is
coming from the south-southwest at 11.8 mph. The ground is parched. Skies
are hazy with a small chance of precipitation.
Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous Moon phase (72% full).

The Sept Compound(#2075RAM)
Obvious exits:
Ash Grove Groundskeeper's Shelter Faint Trail

Rosa Nagua balances precariously on her hind legs, practicing walking upright
in the form least suited to the task.
Erik pauses at the edge of the clearing, watching the little Uktena with
something like awe.
Rosa Nagua continues this difficult, if somewhat pointless, exercise,
concentrating, for long minutes.
Erik watches for a while, then steps toward the fire and sits down,
crosslegged.
Rosa Nagua sets down her forepaws and churfs a happy greeting to Erik. You
impressed your tribemate, last night. Her tail wags.
Erik startles. "Impressed?"
Rosa Nagua begins to test the limits of her climbing abilities against one of
the tree trunks on the clearing's edge. Her ears flick forward. Impressed.
He said good things about your singing, and he was grateful to you. You must
be very... smart. I wish I could be so smart.
Erik ducks his head slightly, embarrassed by the praise. Embarrassed and
confused. "He said that?"
Rosa Nagua slips off her precarious place, half-way up the trunk. Any easy
climb for a human, near impossible for a wolf. She tries again. ~Said? What
needed saying? He did not shout at you, and his voice turned soft.~
Rosa Nagua slips into the woods, seeking easier trees to climb.

Elan ambles into the compound where he spent the night, returning from a walk
around the area.
Erik glances up from his place near the fire.
Elan comes over and sits down. "Hi..." He looks around, seeing no-one. "Nice
and quiet today, huh?"
Erik murmurs, "Yes, it is."
Elan nods slowly at him. "Haven't been able to talk much lately. You being so
shy. All of us are not alike, here, y'know. I..." He hesitates, wondering if
perhaps he's going too far, too fast. "I think the way I've seen you
treated, and what I've heard about, is shit. Really." He seems completely
sincere. As always, he doesn't seem the least put off by the mask or the
hints of what lies underneath. It seems not to exist to his eyes.
Erik tilts his head sideways and slightly down, his eyes serious. "Why?"
Elan gives a slight smile. "Why I think it's shit?"
"Yes." Erik's tone is quiet, solemn.
Elan nods and slides to the dry ground. "'Cause Gnawers don't care 'bout shit
like that. So what if you're Metis? I don't care, really. One more warrior
for Gaia. You got a gift with your voice. Gaia has blessed you in that. Now,
you do have the misfortune to be born to a tribe that seems to have a stick
up it's collective butt. Lest ways, Brian and Steven seem to.
Erik is already shaking his head and turning away slightly. "You don't
understand," he says, quietly.
Elan sighs. "I'm sorry. I want to understand, then. Please, don't turn away.
I'd like to be your friend."
Erik lowers his head slightly, long, gloved fingers knotting together,
gathering his thoughts. "They're right, you see," he says at last. "I live
because of my... talents, but that doesn't change what I am, inside and
out." He exhales his breath in a sigh. "Metis are /not/ equal to other
Garou. We are not whole. Like... like a cracked glass. It won't hold water
anymore. Or the rusted link that weakens the whole chain no matter how
strong the other links are."
Elan shakes his head, now. "I didn't mean to imply that you were only good
because of what you can /do/. That's wrong." He sighs as well. "No, you are
not equal. And I think that does stink. But don't think of yourself that
way. I know two metis, and they are good friends. And I don't say that like
'Hey, I got Black friends..' ya know? One is a packmate of mine, and I'd die
for him. Other's Sepdet. She's a respected healer here, and a good bud. We
played music right here last night. Ask Joseph about her." He looks away a
bit. "Sometimes people can over look what Metis are. But shit, it's a damn
shame you get treated like that for no reason other than your birth. That
'sins of the father' crap is just that."
Erik is momentarily derailed. "Sepdet-rhya is a Metis?"
Elan nods. "It's not something that I think most people know."
Erik pauses, digesting that, and then shakes his head. "Two Metis that you can
name and honor. Two." He shakes his head again and gets to his feet,
restless and pacing. "You don't understand," he says again, with perhaps
more firmness than anyone here's ever seen him display. "You think you're
looking past the surface, past the... the..." He falters here, gestures
vaguely at the mask, then continues. "But you're still only looking at what
you can see. You don't see the heart of things."
Elan smiles sadly. "I've only been here two months, Erik. I have not /met/
most of the people here. It's just too big." He sighs. "We all look at the
surface, sometimes. I'm a Theurge. It's my job to try and look below, and
beyond. What is the heart of things? Have you seen it?" He takes a water
bottle from his pack and swallows some. "I see a man, that has been treated
unfairly, and for far too long." He swallows again. "Want some?" He makes to
hand over the bottle.
Erik shakes his head. "I'm not a man," he says, and stops pacing, putting his
hands into his coat pockets. "I'm not human, and I don't even /look/ it." He
shakes his head again. "There's a crack in the heart of every Metis, every
/mule/." The insulting word is shoved out of his throat with some vehemence,
as though to remind him, or Elan, or both. "The seed of corruption." He
turns on the Gnawer. "Do you know that the Black Spiral Dancers have more
Metis in them than any other breed?"
Rosa Nagua makes noise high in the branches of a tree on the clearing's edge.
She must have taken human form to climb up there, then shifted. No wolf
could climb to such a height. Could they?
Elan shivers at the vehemence in the man's voice, the raw hurt. He nods
sharply once. "Not human, but humane. I don't care what you look like. I've
more than likely seen worse. And that Dancer crap is ... " He shakes his
head. "That's cause they don't bother with that First law nonsense. Well,
you know what? Most Gnawers don't give a damn about it. You go to a Gnawer
caern, you see a lotta Metis. 'Cause they just don't care."
Erik recoils from Elan, stepping back from the Bone Gnawer with something like
horror in his body lanaguage. "That's..."
Rosa Nagua stops, and listens, darkly.
Elan looks at him. "What? You surprised that all the tribes don't follow all
the laws equally. Who does? The Fianna? Huh. Remember, these are the people
that told you you're basically crap."
Elan looks like he almost want to cry.
Rosa Nagua remains coiled to spring, just off the clearing, high in a tree, in
lupus form, silently glaring at Elan.
Erik shakes his head again, moving further back from Elan. "I'd heard
stories," the Metis murmurs, half to himself. "I didna believe they could be
true." He shudders, hugging himself in chilled horror.
Heart-of-Fury lopes into the clearing from the eastern trees, padding towards
the other Garou with a mostly leisurely pace.
Elan looks at him. "Stories about what? Gnawers? Huh. You think Metis don't
get a fair shake, most caerns won't even let Gnawers /in/." He sighs. "Not
as bad as the Metis thing, but I've seen Metis get high position. Moon Raven
for instance. Don't get to be an Adren by doing nothin'. But Gnawers? We
could make this place a damn well of Power and we'd still be shit on. You
ain't the only one.." Now, his voice holds a hint of old bitterness.
Elan looks over to Heart of Fury, and gives a slight smile, but turns back to
Erik.
"But... but you admit that you... to each other... /regularly/?" Erik's voice
holds the tone of someone who's so profoundly disturbed by this that he's
going to have nightmares, most likely.
Heart-of-Fury narrows his eyes as he closes and flicks his ears back in
irritation. Admit what? he demands from Erik. What are you talking about? he
asks generally.
Elan shakes his head. "No, not all the damn time. Not by any means. We gotta
live with all the other tribes, ya know. But it's just not something the
tribe in general holds in the highest regard. We just think that if you love
someone, you love someone. And it stops there. It'd be like, oh, a white
woman and an asian guy. Some people don't like that worth shit. And a lotta
people just don't care. If you love someone, that's the soul thing that
matters."
Erik jerks back slightly, turning toward Heart of Fury. The Metis gestures
vaguely toward Elan. "He said that it was true... that the Bone Gnawers...
they break the Litany. The first law. Like the Fallen Ones."
Heart-of-Fury ears flicker open wide and he turns with a deep snarl to Elan.
He bristles with anger, his hackles rising sharply and abruptly. He is half
ready to attack, half repulsed. No coherent words can he manage, just
another feral snarl as his eyes light dangerously.
Rosa Nagua remains still, watching, tail lowered to balance her as she perches
in her branch, nothing like a bird or a cat.
Elan just shakes his head at Steven.
Heart-of-Fury narrows his eyes again as he regains his ability to speak. Is
such a thing true? he asks, still repulsed.
Rosa Nagua remains ensconced in darkness, hidden high in her tree. She watches.
Jessie wonders out of the shelter, standing on the edge of the clearing,
looking around carefully.
Elan shrugs. "What, you never hear anything about Gnawers? No, we don't do it
regularly, but if somebody ain't careful and *whoops*, there's a Metis!
Well, we don't act like it's the damn end of the world. I guess you feel the
same way about some human born blind, huh? What sin did they commit, huh?
Not a damn thing. And yet it's the same exact thing."
Erik shivers, wrapping his arms about himself; he continues to stare at Elan
with a kind of horrified fascination.
Heart-of-Fury's shift upwards to crinos is so fast that it must be driven by
Rage. He clenches his outstreched claw into a fist and aims it directly at
Elan's chest.
Heart-of-Fury contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Heart-of-Fury shifts into Crinos form.
Elan contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Elan sparkles and blurs, shifting into Lupus form.
Shadow Eyes dives as fast as a rabbit, and blurs into a faster form.
John enters the compound.
Erik stumbles backwards as the other Fianna shifts upwards, scrambling out of
the way.
Heart-of-Fury shouts after, bristling with Rage. ~I would keep such opinions
to yourself,~ are the only words that are distinct. He moves to follow the
other wolf.
Shadow Eyes stalks, teeth bared. You would attack another Garou? Snort.
Moon Otter enters the compound.
Shadow Eyes trots, avoiding, but never getting another person between him and
Steven.
Rosa Nagua remains poised, high in the shadows of the tree at the clearing's
edge, in wolf form, speckled black coat camouflaged in the punctilations of
light and darkness there. She watches, glaring at Shadow Eyes.
Jessie watches the argument cautiously, shifting quietly at the edge of the
compound.
Jessie contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Moon Otter drifts through the periphery of the woods around the Compound,
investigating the variety of scents.
Jessie shifts into Crinos form.
Erik continues to scramble backwards until he bumps up against a tree, and
there he stays, cringing.
Star-Dancer has connected.
John pauses near the edge of the clearing, eyes focused on the two circling
garou.
Heart-of-Fury's eyes look on the brink of losing their rationality. He forces
his words out, spitting them, ~Those who break the Litany in such a fashion
are worthy only of contempt and death.~ He snarls again. ~Your thoughts on
the topic are not welcome here. Leave, if you will not fight,~ he commands
Jessie crouches defensively, ready to act instantly, if needed.
Star-Dancer leaves the compound.
Star-Dancer has left.
Shadow Eyes nods and chuffs. So speak the Fianna, who never do nothing wrong.
Oh, woe is the rest of us. Very well, I shall leave. Fighting another of our
kind solves nothing, and the Wyrm howls with laughter at your actions. Be
ashamed. He backs out of the compound, never showing his back...
Heart-of-Fury snorts with contempt in his voice. ~It is wise that you do not
show your back, Urrah.~
Moon Otter drifts to the edge of the compounds clearing, cocking his head
curiously at the ongoings between the two Urrah.
Shadow Eyes backs slowly out of the compound, tail stiff and back hair raised.
Shadow Eyes leaves the compound.
Shadow Eyes has left.
Rosa Nagua contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Rosa Nagua stretches her spare frame and sinewy limbs, passing the limits of
the possible, to take on Homid form.
Jessie watches the clearing carefully, scanning for any threats. Tense and
twitching.
Heart-of-Fury runs after the wolf, releasing a howl of rage, to make sure he
is gone. He pauses near the treeline for a long time, taking deep breaths
all the while.
Erik breathes slowly and heavily, trembling as he cringes back against the
tree. Slowly, slowly, the Metis sinks down into a crouch, still profoundly
disturbed by the incident.
Rosa Pinay blossoms into a white-clad girl, becoming much more visible, and
sits down on the branch, hugging the tree's trunk. She begins silently
crying.
John glances around the compound. "What was that all about?"
Moon Otter settles down in the shade of the trees, content to let others asks
questions for the time being.
Jessie remains on the edge of the clearning, near the shelter, not relaxing,
but still tense, watching for any hostile actions.
Erik doesn't seem to be in a position to answer anything.
Heart-of-Fury finally lets his form slide into homid, now forcing himself to
push his anger inside. He mutters something under his breath, very quietly.
"Gnawer trash," along with several profanities in Irish. He stuffs his hands
into his pockets and takes a long slow walk to the fire.
Heart-of-Fury contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Heart-of-Fury shifts into Homid form.
Rosa Pinay continues to sob, inarticulate, silent, shaking somewhat with inner
turmoil.
John continues to look around the compound, seemingly awaiting an answer with
more detail than the Fianna's curses.
Steven sits on a log by the fire, the disgust plain on his face, and his
posture rigid. He glances at Erik, and then over at Rose, finally letting
his eyes rest on the flames from the fire. "Why," he asks with a quick
upwards look at Erik, "didn't you make him stop talking about -- about /it?/"
Jessie walks around the edge of the compound, over to the tree Rosa is in. She
looks up and leaps. About half way up she /shifts/. Landing unshakily near
Rose, in homid form.
Jessie contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Jessie shifts into Homid form.
Erik shakes his head at Steven, still shivering slightly. "He.... he wanted to
convince me, I think."
Rosa Pinay wails as she hears Erik's answer, eyes shut tight, tears rolling
down her face.
Jessie tries to manuver closer to Rosa, climbing from branch to branch.
John leans back against a tree, eyes shifting between the two Fianna.
Steven wrinkles his face in another bout of disgust and disappointment. "You
should have done something. It isn't right to sit around and listen to such
talk," he says carefully. He shakes his head angrily. "What in the /hell/
could he have been thinking?" He mutters again, "Stupid fucking idiot,"
though whether that is directed towards the departed Gnawer or Erik is
unclear.
Jessie gets closer to Rosa and whispers to her.
Rosa Pinay wails again, little girl's voice almost like a howl, at Steven's
words.
Erik flinches at the girl's cry. He curls inward slightly gripping at the brim
of his hat and pulling it down. "I'm sorry," he says, as though everything
were his fault. "I was trying to explain to him... about Metis. He didn't
understand. I couldn't believe he... that he was actually... that..." The
rushed, almost babbled words falter and trail off, helplessly. "I'm sorry..."
Steven just snorts in reply, shaking his head again, and looks away from Erik,
keeping his eyes moving, away from the Metis.
Rosa Pinay sniffles, slightly, and quiets down. Tears continue to spring from
her eyes.
Jessie whispers to Rosa again.
Erik goes into a silent, shivering little huddle at the base of the tree.
Rosa Pinay begins to speak, in Spanish. Her words are heavy with her angst.
/No one should share the same sky with one who has killed their father./
Steven stands, too agitated to continue sitting. "What the fuck are you
babbling about?" he calls out with a heavy frown at Rose. He stalks over
towards Erik, annoyance plain on his face, and his fist clenched, perhaps to
strike him, but veers off. "I'm going to run," he announces, unclenching his
fist. "Gaia help me if I find that Gnawer."
Jessie looks at Rosa carefully, and the replies in spanish, /Do not cry for
the sins of others, they are not our sins./ Tears are visible on Jessie's
face.
Erik doesn't reply, except to curl up into an even tighter ball, withdrawing
like a turtle into a nonexistant shell.
Steven contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Steven shifts into Lupus form.
Rosa Pinay replies, in Spanish. /The sins of the father are visited on the
children, to the third and fourth generation./ It is a quote from the old
testament.
Heart-of-Fury leaves the compound.
Heart-of-Fury has left.
Jessie bows her head, in spanish saying. /Should we suffer for our parents
sins? Should we not live, because we are children of the wyrm? If that is
the case, the wyrm has already won./
Moon Otter watches the two groups of people who looked like they knew what was
going on. As Steven leaves, his choice of who to question becomes crystal
clear. Otter pushes to all fours and pads over towards Erik. Who are you?
John mutters something indistinctly under his breath and stalks out of the
compound.
John leaves the compound.
John has left.
Erik seems insensible to the black wolf's approach, or maybe he's just staying
huddling in the vain hope that Otter will go away.
Rosa Pinay continues to weep. /We are the children left with hope. We do not
have the luxury pf losing./
Moon Otter is like a bad rash that doesn't go away. He waits, like a rock, for
a response from the stranger. After a reasonable amount of time, he takes a
step closer and repeats himself. Who are you?
Rosa Pinay pages to Moon Otter, Erik, and Jessie: Er, 'of losing'.
The reply is muffled, as through layers of cloth. "Erik Sings-in-Shadow.
Galliard of the Fianna."
Jessie whispers to Rosa.
Moon Otter offers his lengthier introduction. This one is called
'Moon-Calf-who-has-no-more-sense-than-an-Otter', though many simply refer to
him as 'Otter' to avoid panting. No moon. Patroller of the woods here and
protector of the wolves with the Red Talons. Alpha of Forest Howl's Echo.
Erik makes no reply, but then, curled up as he is, he misses most, if not all,
of the Shadow Lord's wolf speech.
Rosa Pinay says "How... how could he have... boasted... about that?"
Laughs enters the compound.
Laughs has arrived.
Moon Otter paws the nigh immobile Fianna to get his attention. Why was the
other Fianna wearing the war form and threatening the Gnawer?
Jessie tries to comfort Rosa, while hanging on to the tree with one arm.
Rosa Pinay reaches out to hug Jessie with one arm, the tree still clung to
with the other. "How could he have boasted how much the Urrah flaunt the
First Law?"
Laughs stops a little distance away, senses concentrated on those near the
Compound.
Jessie looks at Rosa, hugging her with her free arm, "I don't know, I just
don't know..."
Laughs peers up into the tree. Why are those two-legs not wearing the right
clothes?
Erik cringes away from Otter, then uncurls, turning warily toward the regal
black wolf. "He..." He glances upwards, toward Rose in the tree. "Um. What
she said."
Moon Otter glances at the Homids in the tree, then back to Erik. He boasted of
breaking the first law of the Litany?
Rosa Pinay sniffs, and tries to wipe her eyes and her runny nose with her
sleeve, blinking back tears. It is an awkward position to be in.
Erik shrugs uncomfortably. "That his tribe does, and he sees nothing... wrong
with it." The Fianna gets to his feet abruptly. "Please, sir, I don't want
to talk about this." He sounds sickened.
Laughs trots closer, splaying her ears to her teacher. There seems to be
nothing threatening here.
Jessie tries to help Rosa, holding her up so she can use her arms, ignoring
her own tears.
Moon Otter snorts hard, as if ridding his muzzle of some irritant. This one is
glad he expelled him from the forest the other day. (He turns to Laughs.)
See? This is what becomes of those who dwell in the scabs all their lives.
Corruption.
Laughs wrinkles her nose. The two-legs must always water their faces. It is
very strange.
Rosa Pinay says "Maybe... maybe that explains... that poor Child of Gaia's ...
oh. That poor, poor child..."
Erik moves quickly toward the fire and sits down, periously close to it.
Laughs's attentionswings from one person to another, taking each in carefully,
remembering the scent, the sound, the way of moving.
John stalks back into the compound, muttering to himself. He nods gruffly to
the others and sits down near the fire with a slight thump.
Jessie look down at those gathered in the clearing, then back to Rose.
Rosa Pinay senses Jessie's discomfort, and looks down, judging the distance to
the ground. "Jessie, you are very brave, but... this branch may be a bit
high for you, for now." She reaches out both hands, shifting her position.
"Take my hands, I will help you to get to the ground safely."
Laughs puts herself close to Moon Otter, hoping for some cues about how to
behave. The two-legs in the tree do not bother her- she has seen two-legs do
such things many times before.
Jessie take Rose's hands, letting her help Jessie down.
Rosa Pinay says "Now, slip off the branch. I can hold your weight. Trust me."
Jessie holds onto Rosa, slipping off the branch as instructed.
Moon Otter is still somewhat irked, though obviously not at Laughs (for a
change). In fact, he seems particularly protective of the cub. He nudges her
with his nose. Go. Introduce yourself to the others.
Rosa Pinay twists around on the branch, perhaps fifteen feet off the ground,
and swings, so her knees hook the branch, and she hangs inverted. This
barely takes three feet more off of the distance to the ground for Jessie.
Rosa Pinay contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Rosa Pinay stretches her spare frame and sinewy limbs, passing the limits of
the possible, to take on Crinos form.
Erik takes a deep breath and lets it out, slowly.
Rosa Bannog quickly shifts, letting digitigrade legs clasp the branch,
extending the pair of females much lower.
Rosa Bannog says, ~Jump, now.~
Jessie jumps.
Rosa Bannog lets Jessie go, then swings down, after her, shifting mid-fall.
Rosa Bannog contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Rosa Bannog stretches her spare frame and sinewy limbs, passing the limits of
the possible, to take on Lupus form.
Laughs flinches a little at the shifting going on, but raises her head and
walks over to the fire, looking from John to Erik and back again. This one
is Laughs-at-Sunbeams, Galliard cub of the Red Talons.
Erik ducks his head, giving the cub a subdued nod.
Laughs lifts her tail a little higher, wondering if the other is going to
introduce himself or not.
John appears to be a bit distracted. He looks up as the Talon approaches,
smiling slightly. "John, call defends-the-Wolves by the Garou. Cliath
theurge of the Children of Gaia."
Rosa Nagua pads over nearer the fire. I am Rose. Uktena. Full Moon.
Cuts-Like-Wind has connected.
Erik murmurs, "Erik Sings-in-Shadow, Galliard of the Fianna."
Laughs splays her ears to John, looks carefully at Rose, then steps closer to
Erik. That one has not spoken yet.
Rosa Nagua makes a small circle, as she prepares a place of Jessie to sit,
then nods her Silver Fang friend over.
Erik repeats himself, a bit less quietly.
Jessie walks over to the fire, sitting where Rosa indicates, and pats rosa on
the head.
Laughs turns to look at Jessie. Just that one left to introduce.
Rosa Nagua explains to Laughs that Jessie is new. Perhaps the Red Talon would
take on a human shape, and ask in human words, for her?
Laughs stares at Rosa in amazement, then looks a little thoughtful. Yes, this
one is Garou, and Garou can change. This one has never tried to change yet.
She looks over at her teacher. May this one try?
Moon Otter watches Laugh's every move like a hawk. His demeaner towards Laughs
indicates that that is not an option.
Erik pulls his knees to his chest and rests his head on them, long arms
wrapped about his legs. He witnesses the activity mutely.
Rosa Nagua looks to Erik. Translate for Jessie?
Jessie looks at laughs and smiles slightly, then shifts.
Jessie contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Jessie shifts into Lupus form.
Laughs says to Moon Otter that she has heard no rule that Garou should not
change.
Jessie sniffs the air, learning the new scents. This one is Jessica, spirit
warrior of the Silver Fangs.
Rosa Nagua wags her tail at Jessie's actions.
Moon Otter settles back onto his haunches, stoic in his decree, unwavering at
the cub's reply, and generally being a crotchety stick-in-the-mud.
Laughs looks back at Jessie, dipping her muzzle a little in acknowledgement.
You could have spoken in the two-leg voice, this one would have understood.
This one is new, too. Laughs holds herself proudly, glad to know what she is.
Rosa Nagua looks at Moon Otter.
Laughs turns back to her teacher. Is there a rule that Garou must not use any
shape but this one?
Moon Otter flicks an ear negatively. A true Talon does not wear the form of an
ape.
Rosa Nagua looks at Moon Otter, careful not to dispute his assertion. Bluntly.
Laughs did not ask that. Do Talons never use any shape but the shape of the
wolf?
Erik does not offer his opinion on the matter, merely watches with shadowed
green eyes.
Moon Otter replies, They do. That of the large wolf to fight. Some even go so
far as to wear the war-form at times.
Rosa Nagua steps around the perimeter of the Red Talon cub and teacher,
curious, but without comment.
Laughs asks, so may this one try to change to one of those forms, as those are
proper forms for a Red Talon to use?
John smiles slightly, listening quietly to the talon's conversation.
Jessie curls up on the ground, eyes partially closed, but paying some
attention to the disscussion.
Moon Otter huffs affirmatively. Yes. Those are proper forms for a Red Talons
to use when fighting. If you are eager to learn to fight, take another form
and this one will instruct you. Though not here, where others might be
harmed.
Rosa Nagua circles slightly wider. Something of... distaste in her posture,
but the object of it is... uncertain. Perhaps she is remembering the Urrah
Litany-Breaker, or thinking of some other such false scum.
Jessie looks up at Rosa, tilting an ear back. You will not find answers
outside, but inside.
Laughs's lips lift just a fraction. She can see what her teacher is doing, and
it seems to her to be a game like those of the Apes he says he despises. She
backs down with visible effort, and says merely that this one has seen so
few new things recently, this one would like to stay here a little- first.
Moon Otter doesn't seem perturbed by the cub's unconscious challenge to his
authority. Rather, he has that infinite patience that comes from having
instructing many cubs over a long period of time. That is why this one
brought you here, in order to meet others, so you might learn.
Rosa Nagua finds a shady spot, and sits there, watching. Her back to the dying
light on the Western horizon.
Jessie pushes her paws against the ground, standing up. She stretches
slightly, then pads over to Rosa, sitting next to her.
John leans back, resting his weight on his elbows, looking thoughtfully into
the fire.
Laughs sets aside the idea of trying to shift, for the moment at least. There
are the two others that were in the tree just now. She pads towards them,
her expression curious.
Rosa Nagua asks Laughs, ~Do you hunt rabbit?~
Laughs waves her tail. Yes, this one likes to hunt, when this one is hungry.
Rosa Nagua adds. ~Do you hunt skunk?~
Laughs sneezes involuntarily, then snorts in amusement. Only once.
Rosa Nagua says, ~It is good to know not to mistake skunk for rabbit, Red
Talon.~
Laughs lifts her head, and gives Rose a long stare.
Sepdet's arrival is preceded by her sage-and-earth scent, and a rustling of
needles in some of the large evergreens leaning over the small open area.
She drops from an overhanging branch some ten feet up, landing silently on
the balls of bare feet and splaying her hands against the ground, looking
over towards those gathered here.
Laughs's tail waves again. More people in the trees. It is almost like the
place where she grew up, here.
Erik glances up from his place huddled close (far too close, almost
dangerously close) to the fire.
Rosa Nagua looks back at the Red Talon cub, placidly.
Jessie watches Rosa and the Red Talon, careful to not interupt.
Laughs learns that very quickly. Why do you not wear the right clothes, when
you play in the tree?
Sepdet rises to her feet and paces over to the fire thoughtfully, drawing down
into a low crouch beside Erik. ~Hey.~
Erik lowers his head slightly, turning his head toward the Strider so he can
see her. "Um. Hello."
Rosa Nagua wags her tail. ~My clothes were made from the skins of my first
kills, stitched by me and by my Black Fury sisters, Dedicated to me by a
Seer of the Black Fury tribe. I wear them with honor, although I am not a
Black Fury. I hold that tribe in high regard, always. But I remain true to
the tribe I was born in... despite all that has happened.
Sepdet props elbows on knees and chin on hands. ~If you cringe, I'll bite your
feet,~ she says conversationally, silently sketching the glyph for mule in
the air and jabbing a thumb at herself. ~Sepdet, Strider Seer, Groundskeeper
here for a number of years. I'll also be irritated if you set yourself on
fire. Healing burns is a messy job.~
Jessie tilts her head and looks at the Talon. I wear what I was given, I have
no kill to have skins from.
Erik scoots a bit back from the fire, his body language abashed, murmuring an
apology. He looks at Sepdet with mingled curiosity and wariness.
Sepdet eyes the man's toes, but decides not to make good her threat.
Laughs waves her tail. Where this one grew up, the two-legs who climbed and
swung upside-down had clothes that shone like the sun on raindrops.
John watches the Strider and Fianna, mild amusement showing on his face.
Rosa Nagua yawns. Oh? Tell of this place, of this upbringing.
Sepdet sighs. ~Erik, right? I didn't want to interrupt your work last night,
or I would've said hello. It's okay. I'm a runt too.~ To John she gives a
lopsided grin. ~I don't think I've greeted you properly either since you got
here. I...have been distracted.~
Jessie sits calmly watching Rosa and Laughs, paying attention to their dialog.
Jessie pages to Moon Otter, Rosa Nagua, Erik, John, Laughs, and Sepdet: going
idle for a while
Erik hugs his knees to his chest, not especially certain what to say to a
Metis Groundskeeper who has rank and respect and standing.
John chuckles softly. "We were introduced last evening after my sparring match
with Rose ended."
Rosa Nagua wags her tail, remembering her two hours of sparring with the Child
of Gaia.
Sepdet winces. ~Distracted,~ she repeats, ruefully. ~Not all Strider seers are
such.~
Erik suddenly jerks, startling in the matter of one who's gotten a flash of
insight. He turns further toward Sepdet. "The ghost."
Laughs shifts her position slightly, making herself a little taller. This one
has been told it was not a proper way for a wolf to grow up. Would you want
to hear of such a place?
John continues smiling. "Not much reason to remember me at this point anyway."
Glancing over to Rose, he says good-naturedly. "I wonder if you'd be kind
enough to stand still for me next time?"
Sepdet's forehead wrinkles up in puzzlement at Erik's exclamation. ~Not yet,~
she replies evenly.
Rosa Nagua considers Laughs' question, then Johns. ~I have been in worse
places, new friend.~ Then, to John, she barks, ~Perhaps you will fall down
sooner, if I stand more still?~
Erik shakes his head. "No. I mean, there was a ghost, that looked like you."
He casts about, looking for Rose and finding her with his eyes. "She saw it,
and... the large Talon." He turns back to Sepdet.
Laughs looks puzzled. What is a ghost?
John laughs. "I suppose that might be possible."
Rosa Nagua listens to Erik, now. She chuffs. Ghost. Came. Spoke. Went. Like
Groundskeeper. But... different.
Sepdet's easy manner trickles away to the edges of her face, a grimness
settling into flattened lips and narrowed eyes. ~Noor, perhaps; I had a
tribesmate here, like as a sister. Or perhaps it was me. The Wheel has been
whispering echoes of the past ever since it was damaged.~
Erik's fingers twitch, then knot themselves together. "Oh." Then: "Damaged?"
John listens carefully to this conversation.
Rosa Nagua says, ~Some went. There was a fight. A Warper girl with feet that
changed was there... I think... the reports were... hard to understand. It
was not long ago. A week.~
Laughs whines a little, in frustration. There is so much she wants to know, so
much she wants to ask. There are all these now friends to make, and now
there is talk of the Wheel, the Caern she has heard so little about, and
this new thing called a ghost!
Rosa Nagua says, ~Some time, Laughs, I will show you a ghost, shown to me by
Blinks at Fire.~
Sepdet nods at Rose. ~Stormcloud told me about the spirit-girl-thing. I still
do not understand it myself, except that it seems to be connected with the
echoes of old things happening over again.~ She looks at the distressed
wolf. ~I will explain as best I can, wolf-born. A way so you can understand
me better.~
Sepdet contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Sepdet shifts into Lupus form.
Laughs sits down, expectantly. More to learn, yes. That would be good.
Jessie watches Laughs in understanding, but looking to Rosa to explain things
to Laughs.
Moon Otter slips in amongst the trees, disappearing into the dark forests.
Every now and then the more sensitive Garou might get the creepy feeling
that they're being watched.
Moon Otter goes home.
Moon Otter has left.
Rosa Nagua says, ~I think it was her, from the Vision Magpie gave to Mister
Thunder's Claws. But he showed no interest in her. I... think he has grown
tired of the hunt.~
Hope-Star settles down in sphinx-position, thin legs outstretched on the
ground. Her emotions are far harder to veil in this form; it is clear the
young Seer is terribly disturbed by this matter. Over a year ago, a mad
magic-weaver tried to bring the apocalypse to the world, now. He sent his
servants here, to rape our caern's spirit and strength away. We fought--we
failed. Eventually,the pack Gauntlet, and some human magic-weavers who
strove to stop their evil kin, hunted and destroyed the madman. But the
caern did not heal: its spirit is weak now, and the visions it gives are
clouded and faint.
Hope-Star does not understand what this Warper-child-spirit is which
Stormcloud saw. All I know is that, about the same time the caern was hurt,
we started to see ghosts. At first, sometimes, it was just music, a song
played here once by a Glass Walker long ago. Or again, a Garou long dead
would be seen walking through the caern. Or the weather would change out of
season. Small things, big things.
Hope-Star did not really worry until a danger of long ago struck again, and
there was nothing we could do to change it--a weaver-thing of the humans
attacked here once, shooting at us. It happened again. It disappeared, but
those Garou who were shot this time bled and hurt as if the ghost had been
real. I think Falcon's Wing was hurt, and Thunder's Claws.
Rosa Nagua flicks her ears, with a warning. Those who seek to fight the past,
cannot .
Quietly, trying to be as unobtrusive as one can bee when one is six and a half
feet tall, Erik rises from the fire and slips out of the compound, ducking
his head slightly in apology to the Strider Seer.

[Later]
It is currently 18:45 Pacific Time on Sat Apr 26 1997.
Currently on this gusty 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 south at 12.5 mph. The ground is parched. Skies are cloudy with a
small chance of precipitation.
Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous Moon phase (70% full).

You follow the trail to a clearing in the distance.
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.
Contents:
Dylan
Laughs
Jessie
Rosa Nagua
Fledge(#3122Jq)
Current Compound Residents (Updated: Apr 22)
Windchimes
Obvious exits:
Ash Grove Groundskeeper's Shelter Faint Trail

Jessie says "Anyway, I made them think I was interested in Mexico. I then
slowly took money from my father, a little at a time so he wouldn't notice
it all at once. I planned for weeks, looking for a way out of may parents
home, past the fences and walls. I decided that I needed to make my break
when I was not in the house, but on a trip with a tutor. When we went out
for a trip to but some things I needed, I ran for it. We were in a mall and
it was crowded."
Rosa Nagua remains ensconced in darkness, all but invisible, listening to
Jessie's story.
Dylan, crouched near Laughs, listens to Jessie, his mood somber, in keeping
with the story.
Erik stops at the edge of the compound, saying nothing, though his approach
isn't particularly silent.
Jessie says "I was able to get away from the mall, but I knew they would be
looking for me, so I went to a bus station. I bought a ticket on a bus
heading north, as far as it would go with half of the money I had taken. I
was worried that the tutors would find me before I could leave LA, but the
bus left on time and they didn't stop me."
Rosa Nagua listens, unmoving.
Laughs's attention wavers somewhat, as the language becomes a little beyond
her in places.
Jessie says "The bus stopped in St. Claire, and I got off. I hoped to hide on
the streets, looking for a safe place. I knew the police would be notified
that I was a missing person. The corporation that my dad worked for would
probably be looking for me too. I was really scared of what they would do to
me if they caught me."
Dylan nods, though he does not seem to expect that Jessie is telling the story
to him.
Jessie says "So I was hiding in St. Claire when Jenna and Hank found me. They
thought I was evil, and chased me to an alley, to kill me. Hank pointed a
gun at hy head, and was going to fire, when I changed. I didn't know what
was happening then."
Dylan frowns, then erases the expression, nodding.
Erik shivers. Then, quietly as he can, the over-tall Fianna picks his way
toward a place by the fire and sits down, careful not to disturb the young
storyteller.
Rosa Nagua growls.
Jessie says "Jenna called me a Fomor and asked me what evil I had been up to.
She gave me 5 minutes to give her good reason not to kill me. My only
response was why did she want to kill me. This seemed to confuse her. That's
when they brought me here."
Jessie sighs, "I guess thats most of the story, other things happened, but I'm
not that good at stories. I would answer any questions though."
Dylan's focus sharpens at the description of Jenna's behavior. He looks wry.
Rosa Nagua stands, to emerge part way from the darkness. ~Your story, is my
story. A difference here. A difference there. We are the same face,
reflected in a pool disturbed by the passage of an unsettling hand.~
Jessie looks at Rosa, "As I said earlier, we are the same, images in a mirror,
reflecting each other."
Erik tilts his head, regarding Fang and Uktena for a moment before his head
lowers again and the shadow from the brim of his hat obscures his eyes.
Rosa Nagua says, ~You have walked the way more of the Substance. I, more of
the Unknowable.~
Dylan exhales slowly, then winces suddenly. He sets his hand against the
ground and pushes himself carefully to his feet.
Rosa Nagua says, ~An old injury, Stargazer?~
Jessie says "There is much I have not spoken of, and much I still do not
remember. I may speak of more things another day."
Rosa Nagua licks Jessie's face. Good.
Jessie reaches up and scratches Rosa behind the ears. "I know you will always
understand."
Dylan glances at Rosa. "Yes, Rose," he says quietly. "The wind chooses to
remind me of it, from time to time." He looks at Jessie. "Thank you." He
nods to everyone - carefully - and begins to pick his way back out of the
clearing again.
Rosa Nagua says, ~When you melt, Stargazer?~
Erik pulls his knees to his chest and hugs himself as if cold, despite the
fire.
Dylan stops and looks back at Rosa, gauging for a moment. "No, Rosa," he says,
with quiet patience. "Once I walked a realm of pure Wyld, and I became fluid
on that path. If my packmates had not saved me, I would have remained. But
right now I have a headache, because once someone shot me in the head with
silver, to try to stop me from helping to rescue his young daughter." His
eyes flicker very slightly. "Is that all right?"
Jessie watches Dylan, while petting Rosa.
Rosa Nagua tilts her head. Concern for suffering, Stargazer, is never a great
wrong.
Dylan nods slowly. "Run well, Rose. Run well, the four of you."
Rosa Nagua watches Dylan go. Almost never. She retreats to the shadows.
Dylan leaves the compound.
Dylan has left.
Jessie follows Rosa into the shadows. Whispering to her.
Rosa Nagua settles down, and looks at Jessie. That is a very serious
undertaking. Who has told you that this is so?
Jessie whispers to Rosa again.
Rosa Nagua slaps the ground with her tail, emphatically. No. That is not a
thing for a cub to decide. Think carefully of your reasons for wishing this
to come about. Approach your tribe, whatever wise one of your tribe you can,
and tell these things. As soon as possible. Do not make Rose's mistake.
Jessie frowns and looks away from Rosa.
Rosa Nagua growls. Do not look away from me like that. This is a serious thing.
Jessie looks at Rosa, and looks upset, "I never said it wasn't serious."
Rosa Nagua says, ~This thing of talking to your own tribe, first, for wisdom.
This is serious. The other... You have heard of my failed attempt at
Passage, you understand what it means to me.~
Jessie looks at the ground and frowns, "I will speak of it to Blackstripe when
I see her next."
Rosa Nagua noses Jessie. You will not regret this.
Jessie says "I did talk to Derrick first, he thought I might just want
revenge. But he agreed that it probably should be done. They will find me
here eventually. I cannot hide here forever."
Rosa Nagua flicks her ears, agreeing. Perhaps, in your time... that will be a
decision to make, as a step toward adulthood.
Jessie says "Perhaps....."
Rosa Nagua says, ~Would you be able to live under the same sky, with one who
had done this thing?~
Jessie tilts her head and looks at Rosa, "Would you try to find cause for me
not to?"
Rosa Nagua says, ~As you and I are reflections, seen in a pool disturbed by
the passing of an unsettling hand, we are also branches, claiming kinship
through a single root. The root is sustenance, strength... stability,
direction... destiny. So too, are parent and child reflections, but
stronger. Through the parent, the child is connected to the root. A parent
is a link in the great chain, all the way to the Golden Times, and beyond.
Some Garou, this link is so strong in... that they know their past lives
through it. Your tribe, it is like Oak. Roots deep, wide, and strong.
Especially in you, Jessie, all can see that who have eyes. My people... we
are like Mistletoe. I thrive best, where my roots are not the substantial
kind.~
Jessie says "You use metaphore for excuses. You twist to hide truth. My
parents are not strong roots, they are vines that grasp. If I am my parents
child, then all here are damned, and should kill me quickly. I will not
except them as such. You are not mistletoe, you are Rosa. As my roots are
false, do not claim yours are weak. Even mistletoe may out live the tree it
lives on."
Rosa Nagua flicks her ears. You learned to be strong, like oak, and to reject
what is unreasoning in your eyes. But you suspected the betrayal of
knowledge. Reach past that, now. How do you feel about your parents? The
real ones, as they once were.
Jessie looks down, eyes damp, but no tears, "I can not say, it was too long
ago, too much has happened since then. Would you judge them as good? I have
no sense of their being, it is lost in the mists of my mind."
Rosa Nagua says, ~When one loses a thing of value, does one not wonder where
it has gone?~
Jessie says "I have lost too much, to know what was of value, and what should
stay lost."
Rosa Nagua says, ~In time, maybe, my Elders say... I may heal enough that I
can feel again those lost things, without pain. For you, now, you have a
chance. Do not make Rose's mistake.~
Jessie looks up, "Which mistake? I don't want to remember some things, I think
some things are better off lost."
Rosa Nagua says, ~I gave up hope... for another.~
Jessie looks at Rosa, then just goes limp, "...hope... I don't think I can
hope for them.."
You leave the compound, making your way northeast through the meadows to the
denser parts of the forest.