Busy Sunday

[hazlogs]

11/8/2015

Currently the moon is in the waning Crescent (Theurge) Moon phase (22% full).

Caern: The Stone Firepit

A subtle undulation of the land forms an curious, natural spiral in the open ground. One side of the formation rises to create a half-circle or crescent of earth surrounding and encompassing the spiral. The ground is littered with rock and flagstones, both large and small. Someone has carefully gathered up a trove of these and erected a clear fire pit. Flagstones with smooth surfaces have been laid along the upper lip of half circle of earth around the fire pit, turning it into a nice seating area. All debris and flammable material's been removed from within the spiral, and a fire has been laid. Just beyond the spiral's edge, wood has been collected and piled for future use. Surrounding this, the rugged walls of the canyon have been half buried by the Wyld surge, making the upper slope of the valley more gentle than it was before. Stands of Douglas fir and white pines mix with hemlock, lodgepole pines, and western larch trees to fill much of the open space, but the trees here are not nearly as dense as they are in the surrounding forests of the bawn. The sparse woods allows a partial view of the sky, and both sun and moonlight filter down to create enigmatic and beautiful shadow patterns on the forest floor. That floor is blanketed with a thick, soft rug of shed pine needles, lichen and leaf debris. The moss-covered relics of old, dead trees occasionally mark a place where once great sentinels loomed above.

The caern expands in two directions from here. The escarpment wall and raised dais form one point of the new triangle, while the center of the caern and its gigantic, Wyld-influenced tree marks the other. The only obvious way out of the caern is the valley slope that leads to the central bawn.

Nicodemus is seated in one of his favorite places within the caern, on the ground in front of the fire pit--perhaps a little closer than most might find comfortable considering the larger-than-usual fire that's currently burning there. He's seated so his gaze goes through the fire and towards the heart of the caern itself, which places his back to the nearby woods--perhaps an action that most kin who'd found themselves in this place might not be entirely comfortable doing. There's a light hiking backpack nearby, as if perhaps he'd hiked in earlier that day and hadn't bothered setting up camp somewhere nearby yet. He's contemplatively chewing on what might initially seem like an oddly colored piece of beef jerky, but closer inspection--or being downwind--would reveal it to be vegetarian Thai-peanut tofu-jerky.

Salem makes his way down the wooded slope into the caern, his limp more pronounced than usual, hair clinging sweatily to his forehead, looking generally disheveled and mussed, and with a big rip in one sleeve of his t-shirt. The cotton's stained with dried blood, though there's no sign of injury on him. No /new/ injury, anyway.

Something, inevitably, draws the warper's attention. He looks away from the fire before him and directly towards the approaching Walker. "Ah. Salem," he observes out loud as he studies the new arrival. "Good to see you out here once again. Business? Pleasure? Spiritual draw? A little of each?"

The young Philodox pushes hair away from his face and limps over to join Nick by the fire, though his chosen seat's not nearly so close. "Little of each. The Hub was feeling a little, well, claustrophobic. You?"

"A little of all of the above as well," Nick replies as softly as Salem settles in at a not-so-close spot around the fire pit. Nick, perhaps recognizing he's too close to the flames, moves himself back a few feet from the fire. "Your caern," he says, excluding himself from any ownership, "is fascinating on all of those levels. And I feel very...." He searches for an appropriate word. Then he finds it. "... /centered/ here. And the patterns? Hypnotic."

Salem and Nicodemus are seated near the firepit, wherein blazes a /very/ healthy flame. The barely-adolescent Philodox has been running through undergrowth and climbing trees recently and looks it, complete with torn sleeve and dried blood. "I've visited quite a number of caerns, and this one is very... unique," he says to Nick with a nod.

Nicodemus leans back, propping himself up upon two gloved hands. "You are tremendously fortunate. I've been to other places of power. Nearby glades in the woods and the park, for instance. None of them resonate like here."

Little Silvertip comes down the damp trail, skulking her way along through the shadows. It's not terribly clandestine, but it doesn't look like she's trying for that. The small wolf pauses a few spots to sniff at this and that, and to peer into the caern at who's down by the fire pit. The wolf carries on slowly down like nothing is amiss.

Salem nods. "I'm glad that you've been-- ah." He's noticed Silvertip and stops talking to eye the Uktena warily.

This three-year-old, arctic wolf's thick white coat stretches over an equally thick and stocky frame. She's about two and a quarter feet tall at the shoulder and four from tip to tail, significantly shorter, more stout, and much more bulky than your run of the mill wolf. Copious muscles can be seen sliding along when she moves, even under her heavy coat. Like the rest of her subspecies, her paws seem almost too large for her body. She often favours her left hind leg just so slightly. Among her coat are about as many scars as one would expect for a wolf of her age. (+details set)

Nicodemus's attention also swings over towards the approaching Uktena, but then he ends up dividing his focus between the Walker and the Uktena--as if more concerned about how they might get along as opposed to how he might get along with either of them individually.

Little Silvertip continues on her merry way, almost willfuly oblivious to the sudden attention being cast her direction. She meanders on down towards the firepit in an unhurried manner, until the Uktena abruptly stops, like she'd just walked nose-first into a wall. She starts sniffing at the air repeatedly, looking at the adolescent walker with a perplexed look. She expresses something that comes about as close to 'Da Fuq?' as a wolf can get.

Salem grimaces, glancing at Nick and then back at Silvertip. "It's me, yes," he says tersely. His voice is as different as his appearance. "Long story. Short version is, fae are assholes."

"And yet the Fianna like them. For some reason," Nick adds. Perhaps to help reassure the Uktena, he further adds, "He's Salem. I checked."

Little Silvertip paces forward a few more steps, sniffing as she does. The Uktena looks focused for a moment, sniffs a bit more, and then shifts to a more visually oriented form. For once, when the Uktena approaches Nick and Salem, she isn't craning her head up to look at the latter. A little more perplexed peering, before she glances down at herself, and gives a weird little shrug. "Cangacit?" And for (probably) Salem's benefit: "Uh... what... what is, uh, up?"

This late twenty-something Alaska Native woman stands under five feet tall - something that's made worse with her usual slouching posture - but she looks far from frail. Not unsightly, Ciuraq has a boxer's physique, with a fit but well figured body, and muscular arms and thick legs which contributes to a stout look. Her round face has a small broad nose, wide mouth, and a faint scar runs along part of the lower left part of her face; her jaw looks like it's been injured in the past. Her small, wide-set, dark brown eyes have an almond shape and arching eyebrows, and her thick black hair hangs to her waist, usually braided. In spite of her small stature, she can seem physically dominating, and possesses a unstopability usually reserved for locomotives or rampaging beasts.

Ciuraq has on clothes that are best described as stylish, pricy, and flattering, though without being out and out 'girly.' She's wearing a dark navy and bright turquoise tanktop, and a pair of khaki capri pants. This is supplemented by a light beige longsleeve top when things get cooler. She has a small fur pouch on her hip, hidden under the untucked over-shirt when she wears it. It has a faint phenolic smell. She has an ornate bracelet on her left wrist, seemingly made of molded bone, and bearing a piece of the purest turquoise in the center. She favours her left leg slightly when she moves. Depending on what she's wearing, sometimes the whale fluke tattoos can be seen circling her collar bone, two in the front, two on her back. (+details set)

Salem remains seated, though he's noticeably tense as the Uktena looks him over; he relaxes a little when Silvertip shifts to homid. "Surviving and adapting," he says in response to her question, and shrugs. "More specifically, Dalton and I were discussing how very excellent the caern here is."

Nicodemus leans forward, no longer relying upon his arms to keep himself propped up, and offers a shrug to the Uktena. "It's a nice place." And as if he noticed the Uktena's recent gift use, he adds, "And I checked him earlier. There's no easy fix that I saw, and no lingering effects beyond, well, the obvious one." The trio--Nick, Ciuraq, and Salem--are all around the fire pit. No one else seems present. Yet.

There's movement at the edge of the caern as a man makes his way out of the forest and into the open space. He looks around with a mix of wonder and confusion, not even spotting those at the fire pit so focused is he on the tree near the center. He runs a hand back through the short mohawk, and gives a soft shake of his head.

Ciuraq pulls the overshirt a little tighter about herself, clearly having not switched back from 'visit people in the city' clothes and being ill-prepared for the changing weather. The Uktena's brow bobs as she looks from Salem to Nick. Then, more to the latter, "I... um... I... I can't really say... anything?" She shrugs vaguely. "Fianna get in trouble wit little... uh... little people too."

The trio of Coyote followers can be heard before they're scene. Felix and Justin's voices can be heard, punctuated with occasional lupine noises. They appear to be discussing dinner plans by the sounds of it. Or is it they're planning to /do/ something to an eating establishment? One certainly does not eat toilet paper.

Salem shifts his weight, looking over his shoulder toward Kavi; he waves his fellow Glass Walker over. "It is what it is," he says in reply to Silvertip. "Life goes on, ne?"

The only other thing of note is that the coyotes have been doing somewhat honorable tasks such as working on the bawn and in the Caern with the Groundskeeper the last three weeks. If anyone was to have asked, Justin would have made a statement that sometimes it's best to make a few deposits before making a withdrawal. Whatever that means. "So, I am thinking we could fill the back of the toilet bowl with dark red kool-aid, that way when the next guy flushes, it looks like blood is coming out and it'd freak out some poor lady. Especially after eating /their/ food. You know how spicy it gets. Will probably think they tore their asshole open."

Felix snickers at Justin's suggestion, shaking his head, although apparently not in disagreement. "Maybe just food colourin'... might kinda give the game away if it smells all fruity in there," he suggests, "Plus, might be able to get better colour, even the cherry kool-aid's kinda RED red, if y'know what I mean..." He trails off as the sound of other people talking drifts in their direction, and the source of it becomes visible. "Mornin'!" he calls to the assembled, lifting a hand.

Nicodemus nods a greeting to the newly arriving Kavi and, twisting to look in another direction, towards the arriving Coyote-pack. He gives them a nod as well. He stays silent for the time being, as if yielding the floor to the 'adults' in the house to do business.

Still distracted by his surroundings, Kavi acknowledges Salem's wave and heads in the direction of those by the fire. As he nears, he looks from Salem to each of the others and back again, a silent question in his gaze.

Ciuraq, when she spies the others, gets real quiet. The Uktena moves closer to the warmth of the fire, glancing at the approaching group of teens. Glancing Justin and Watcher over, the Uktena's gaze loiters on Felix for a moment, and the athro frowns slightly as she tries to recognize him.

Three-Mountains comes into the clearing of the caern's well-worn center and spies the others already gathered. It's to Ciuraq the bulk of his attention goes and the coywolf gives his elder an enthusiastic wave of his tail in greeting. He doesn't miss her body language and bumps against the leg of Felix and clarifies he is his pack. The others are given close looks in their own right, a mingled curiosity and tentative friendliness. He sticks next to his two packmates though.

Salem eyes the trio of Coyotes, thin-lipped, though he nods in response to Felix's greeting before turning to Kavi. He pats the ground next to him, inviting the amnesiac Walker over to sit. "Anything familiar?"

The swagger that the Gnawer Ahroun has his hilariously unmistakable. Despite being easily out ranked by everyone and their mom, he carries himself as he was a Silver Fang. "Morning." He calls out as well, followed by a salute across the brows towards the others. "What's th' haps? We're just finishing up a quick round of clean up on the bawn and thought we'd investigate." In thought, he says to Felix. "Could always water down a good dark red and brown colored paint."

Maybe it's a teenage Gnawer thing, since Felix's saunter does a pretty good job of suggesting the world belongs to him as well. Maybe it just hasn't realised it yet. "Technically," he replies to Justin just as thoughtfully while they head toward the firepit, "we could just actually use blood. I mean, ain't like it's that hard to get. It'd stay all liquid in water, wouldn't it?" He looks those he hasn't yet met over during the approach, and waits a moment to be sure he isn't interrupting too much before he says, "I ain't met all of you yet, I don't think. Felix T. Sinclair, Lets-Them-Eat-Cake, Cliath 'Gnawer Galliard, at your service. Packed with these guys, under Coyote."

Ciuraq glances back at Nick and Salem, sparing a momentary puzzled look at Kavi, before she turns to bodily face Felix. Standing a little taller (or trying to, anyhow), she takes on an almost 'in charge' posture. "... I am Ciuraq Aketachunak. :ittle Silvertip Mauls the Horned Serpent. Also, Little Silvertip who Slays Carnage-Ikthya and his mate, Eclipse-Ikthya and Little Silvertip who Brings Back Light's Gift to the Wolf People. Fourth ranked warrior of Uktena's tribe, alpha of Deep Waters under the same totem. Member of the Sept of the Three. Adopted daughter of Cylas Elachik, Driftwood Dances and Julia Aketachunak, Sister of Jacinta Aketachunak, Tempest's Wake, cousin to the Esther Kaganak, Storm of the North." The introduction is long, obviously formal, and well rehersed - almost no slip-ups of her tongue in saying that all. After all the words are out of the way, she nods a bit in Felix's direction. "Cama-i."

Nicodemus stands up, giving his attire a sharp tug that dislodges a majority of the dirt and debris that'd adhered to his clothing while he'd been sitting on the ground. He returns Felix's greeting with his own, much-shorter-than-Ciuraq's greeting. "Nick Dalton. Kin to the Walkers." He follows it up by an offer to shake Felix's hand with his own gloved right hand, and his gaze shifts to the coywolf present. Apparently another unknown to him.

Kavi, too, glances over at the new arrivals, and then returns his focus to the others with a slight shake of his head for Salem. "It feels... familiar? Like the guitar. I breathe it in, and it feels right, but I can't... I don't know it." He looks to Ciuraq and then Nick, an apologetic down-tic of his gaze. "I'm sorry. I-- I'm Kavi. Galliard of the Glass Walkers. I don't know if we met, before...?" His brief introduction is offered primarily for Ciuraq and Nick, but he turns at the end to include Coyote's pack.

Salem rubs a hand over his face, muttering briefly in Serbian. Louder, he says, "Food coloring and Karo syrup. It worked damn well for Raimi in _Evil Dead_."

Three-Mountains tips his head as he takes in Kavi's appearance and his nose turns to sample the Galliard's scent on the air. After a moment's consideration he lets his posture relax. He does not know this one. He is the One Who Watches And Sings To The Three Mountains. First rank song howler of Silvertip-alpha's tribe. He drops himself back onto his rump and settles to worry at an itchy spot on his flank.

"Dude, I'm not gonna get real blood. You'd take it from a comedy to a horror flick." Justin grins to Felix, then points to Salem. "See, the kid gets it. Hey bro, that's an awesome idea. Nice to you meet you guys. I'm Justin Statton, called Mouse Trap by my homies. Cliath and Ahroun of the Gnawers. Alpha for the cunning and witty Coyote pack Tactical Frivolity." He says with a puff of his chest. "Nice to meet you two." He says mostly for Kavi and pre-puberty Salem who he does not recognize.

Ciuraq gives Kavi a very queer look. "Ii-i." She says, starting to fold her arms. "I... eh, taught you... uh... taught you a rite..." She almost looks like she's not sure if she should be offended.

Felix gives the group, although Ciruaq in particular, a rather flamboyant bow, complete with sweeping arm gesture; it's playful, but doesn't appear to be mocking. "Nice meetin' ya," he says as he straightens, and leans to accept Nick's hand, giving it a much more standard-issue shake. He rolls his eyes at Justin's protest, "...ain't like I suggested =human= blood. I was thinkin' cow or somethin'. But Evil Dead style could work. We'd hafta test it, make sure the syrup part goes through okay..." Part of Kavi's remark to Salem distracts him from the finer points of distressing random users of public restrooms, and he brightens a bit, not that he was exactly glum before. "You play guitar?" Clearly more important than the parts about what or who else the Walker may or may not recall.

Nicodemus eyes the coywolf momentarily as it makes canine noises, but then refocuses on the... topic at hand. "Blood--or a similar-looking substance--in the toilet bowl seems kind of a little on the mean-spirited side of things, doesn't it?" He seems concerned about how humans might react when faced with that situation. Kinfolk: Such wussies.

Kavi dips his gaze again as Ciuraq looks his way. "I'm sorry," he says once more. "Things are... I don't remember anything from before." Without lifting his head, he glances sidelong to the Cliath who addresses him, acknowledging the question without answering.

Salem smiles a little tightly at 'the kid', then looks over at Ciuraq. "Fae," he tells the Uktena, indicating Kavi with a tilt of his head. "They took his memories along with what they did to me."

"Yeah, well, we're a bit late on our Halloween pranking since we've been hanging out here and helping out the Fury with the clearing of dead trees and brambles and all that other camping shit that I'm not real good at." Justin says as he gives a long stretch of his body upwards. "You can only throw so many M-80's down the shitter before that gets old." He glances between Salem and Kavi for a moment before he says, "So, uh -- whaddup? You like the new cub or something? You got some wicked scars already if you are." He rubs the back of his neck. ".. huh. Kinda jealous now."

Three-Mountains looks up to Justin with a snort. It is not hard. They are branches. He seems amused at his city-friend's difficulties with the trees. The coywolf stretches himself out to settle himself onto the ground.

Ciuraq looks from Salem to Kavi, the queer look remaining. Saying something quick and apologetic to Nick in Yup'ik, she then shifts up to Crinos. A spear and a small bag appear in that form, apparently so-dedicated, and they get set against a convienent rock in a drier bit of the Caern. ~I'm sorry, that sounds a lot like you said the Little People took your memories.~ The Crinos begins. Facing back to Kavi, but with an eye on Salem, ~Where did they take them?~

Felix nods slightly to the lack of answer, and shakes his head at Nick. "Nah," he answers, and grins at Justin's reply before agreeing, "...an' usin' those'd be mean-spirited. They'd hafta replace the fixtures entirely. Shoulda seen the results when I had somea those in junior high, it was like a tsunami in there. All this'll do is startle someone, maybe make someone hafta dump some bleach in there. Which, the kinda food they're servin', they oughta be doin' that pretty often anyhow, y'ask me." He glances sidelong at the other Gnawer when he addresses Salem, but doesn't step in to clear anything up. Nope. He does, however, say to the Kavi, "Oh, you're the one he was mentionin' before, then. Sorry, man, I hope that gets sorted out."

Nicodemus doesn't seem entirely appeased with the responses that Felix and Justin give, but he doesn't bother pressing the issue either. "I've done worse, I guess, back in the day." And he drops it at that. He does, however, turn to listen to Silvertip when she speaks in Yup'ik--as if he'd understood the language. Most of his attention seems to be on that particular conversation, as well as Kavi.

Kavi takes a step backward, suddenly more alert and tense as the Uktena takes crinos. He swallows, glancing toward Salem. "I-- I don't know."

Salem huffs out a breath, looking mildly irritated. And tense, now that the Athro Ahroun is in Crinos. "I haven't the damnedest clue where they took his memories. Neither of us even remember the trip itself." He rubs at his forehead, glancing at Justin, then looking back up at Little Silvertip. "He's relearning things."

Little Silvertip backs up a step, before squatting down on her haunches, taking a tick to roll Salem's response around in her head. ~What trip? And when do you two start remembering things?~

As it seems he is being blown off, Justin lifts his shoulders upwards in a shrug as he glances to the other two coyotes in his pack. Shifting his jaw, he says, "Well, as always, we may as well be invisible. So, you guys wanna just get milkshakes?" He asks as he starts off back through the path, heading for the bawn.

Salem glances at the departing Gnawer Ahroun and sighs again. He drags fingers back through his hair and reluctantly summarizes for Little Silvertip. "Kavi wanted to learn a Fianna tribal Gift, and for that, Morgan wanted him to get Stag's blessing first. I went along for, well, moral support. Mouse summoned Stag, we followed him through a portal to... somewhere, and I couldn't tell you much of anything that happened afterward. We came back separately, me being like, well, /this/ and him the way he is."

Felix glances to his packmates, and takes a couple steps away from the circle along with Justin. Not all the way down along the path, though; he stops, lifting a 'hold on' finger, and leans in to talk to them more quietly. "He's Salem," he explains to the Ahroun, "He an' Kavi there went off on a quest, ran into some fae, an' poof, time to repeat seventh grade. For him; reckon the other guy came back the same age he left, just--" He breaks off as the more official explanation happens behind them, and gestures toward that group when Salem finishes, "...well, that."

"We went," Kavi starts, hesitating as he glances again to Salem, and then continues after the Philodox explains. "I don't remember any of it. Anything before, or... or while we were gone. I just. I was in Portland. I'm learning, but. But not remembering. There are feelings, sometimes, like the memory is there, but I can't find it."

Nicodemus stays silent, just listening to the conversation and trying to pick things up. Oddly enough, he didn't back up when Silvertip shifted to crinos earlier.

Little Silvertip listens to Kavi and Salem, before throwing an irritated look at the younger pack. ~Do you know how whiney you sound?~ The Uktena grunts to Justin. ~'Oh, no, no one is paying attention to me, because they're concerned about the people who had their mind wiped.'~ A snort later, the crinos turns back to Kavi and Salem. ~This reminds me of a similar problem. If you're interested in me sniffing around sometime.~

Giving a pause, Justin looks as if he is about to reply to Felix, but it is Silvertip's words that causes him to stiffen up. He pauses for a moment, then smirks rather broadly. "My bad." He looks rather triumphant, as if he just won a blue ribbon.

Kavi lifts a hand to scratch at the side of his head where the stubble has started to grow. Justin's reply to Silvertip makes his eyes go a little wide and he takes another few backward steps. Whatever answer he might have given the Uktena is held, for the moment.

Salem goes quite still, eyeballing Justin and the other Coyotes, his expression neutral. After a moment, he looks from them to Silvertip and asks, "Similar how?"

He didn't move earlier when the elder Uktena shifted to crinos, but Nick does start taking a few steps off to one side, casually, as words are exchanged. He's making sure he's not inbetween Point A and Point B.

Little Silvertip doesn't roll her eyes, but does the crinos equivellent thereof at Justin's reply. ~Ringtone's description.~ She says, near mono-sylabically. The crinos stands back up again, heading to her stuff. ~Almost exactly those words.~

The Walker galliard doesn't reclaim the distance he gave up, but he does once again look back and forth between Salem and Silvertip, curiosity warring with discomfort. "I-- I think I would appreciate that." He swallows, glancing toward the edge of the caern. "But I think... Maybe another time?"

Salem seems to take that as a cue and stands up. "Time to go?" He turns to Silvertip. "We'd be honored to have your help," he tells the Uktena, formally. "For right now, we have to get back to the city."

Little Silvertip grabs the bag, putting the strap over her shoulder, and collects her spear before shifting back down to Homid. "Ii-i." She agrees, to one or the other.

Nicodemus nods farewell to those departing, looking more relaxed as Justin departs and proverbial hackles seem to be lowering. He halts his oh-so-casual retreat and heads back towards the firepit--and his hiking pack he left there, too.

Felix doesn't step away from his tribemate, though there may be a hint of relief in the set of his shoulders when there doesn't end up being some kind of Corrective Maintenance right next to him. "I got a few things I still gotta set around," he tells his packmates as they head onward along the path, "Meet you at the house in a little." That done, he heads back toward the circle, waving to the Walkers as they head off as well, and gives one of the larger flagstones a considering look.

(...)

================================== Announce ==================================
Message: 2/146 Posted Author
Fourth Earthquake Sun Nov 8, 2015 Sheogorath
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early afternoon saw a considerably powerful earthquake hit the Caern and Bawn. Kent's Crossing suffered only a little less, and is currently almost entirely without power (estimates are at six hours to a few days to restore it all). Several buildings had their roofs cave in, and one older house collapsed entirely in on itself. Some parts of St. Claire are also without power (mostly the outskirts and suburbs), with an estimate of three to five hours for restoration). Injuries related to the quake are currently listed in the dozens and climbing higher. There were three fatalities related to the collapsed house.

The epicenter is quickly reported as being in the Blue Mountains, which took the hardest hit. Multiple avalanches and landslides have blocked trails, both man-made and natural, and downed a large number of trees.

Anyone checking out the Caern will notice new growth of several varieties of vines coming up from the old wasp nest tunnels, and those with sharp eyes and memories will notice the giant center tree has gained a few inches in height. Umbrally, Wyld spirits of all types can be found in abundance, generally giddy and energetic and not necessarily friendly (Garou beware).
==============================================================================

(...)

The Hub

It is currently 17:53 Pacific Time on Sun Nov 8 2015.

Heading into the hub, Briari calls out. "Hey! Anyone home?!" She glances about left to right as she peels out of her jacket and places her pack on the ground. Snagging her laptop off a table, she flops down into a chair and starts to tap away once she pops the lid up and logs in with her password.

Salem appears at the loft's railing, hair wet and freshly combed, dressed in t-shirt and sweats. He peers down at the Ragabash, then heads for the stairs to join her on the main floor. "I'm home."

Peeking upwards, Briari puts the laptop to the side and then heads over to him with a grin. "Hey. So, exciting stuff, huh? You feel that earthquake? That was a real son of a bitch. Power is out across a buncha parts of the city and people are starting to freak out. But, I do got good news."

Salem sits down a few steps from the bottom, elbows resting on his knees. He looks tired. "Do tell."

Hopping to the steps and taking a seat as well, Briari gives a grin. "Renegade is not here in Saint Claire."

Salem squints, his dead eye closing almost shut. "Renegade..." He searches through his memory. "The Dancer?"

"Yeah, hive leader of Seattle. He was rumored to have been holed up in the Queen's Tower, the one organizing all those spiral hits over the last year here." Briari says as she leans against the wall, kicking a foot up against the stair railing. "But, he's no longer here. Trailed him four hours out to I-5. He's gone, back to Seattle. Spirals here no longer have a head honcho calling the shots, at least not one of his rank."

Salem raises an eyebrow. "No, they don't have /him/ calling the shots. That doesn't mean they don't have someone of equal rank or better. Or someone worse."

"So, you wanna try and find out with me who it could be?" Briari asks with a grin on her face. "I don't know about you, but, I'm itching to take that tower down once and for all."

Salem shifts his weight, studying the Ragabash with interest. "What's your plan?"

Briari pushes her glasses up against her face. "Well, let's talk about what we already know. The umbral side of it is warded from gifts and teleportation, which Val has bounced off already. There is also big tank like banes guarding the place. Those can be easily dispatched by some of our heavy hitters. Silvertip, Jacinta, Emma, Excelsior. Once you clear the banes out, you start to work on the wards. Dakota and James and Mouse. Either way, that's free glory. It is best to try and poke at the umbral side first and foremost, because it'd cause the less attention in the real world." She pauses here. "In the real world, the top floors.." She pulls up her phone, clicks a button on it, then the projector she has set up shows an image on the building. "See the floors that have the blacked out tint along the outside? That is where the bad guys are at. On the inside of the building, you can't reach those floors because the elevators won't let you up unless you have a specific keycard. During my tour of the building, I was only able to make it to the fourth floor. I have mapped out every inch and step of the lobby and first couple of floors, but that does us no good." She pauses here now as she flips through a few more slides.

Salem smirks a little at mention of Val bouncing off umbral wards, though his expression soon grows serious again as he listens. He studies the projected image, idly scratching at one of the big scars running down his left forearm. "Cockroach teaches a Gift that may get us past those doors," he says thoughtfully. "Maybe even the umbral ward. Maybe."

"I have the gift of power surge, so I can shut down power systems, and I have open seal so I can pop open locked doors. I also have blissful ignorance and the blurring gift. So, I can be useful once I get 'in'. Also got sense of the prey and spider's song." The last gift Briari grins wryly about. "One of my favorites." She clicks another slide. "The other thing is the invisible fomori with the collective hive-mind of shared information. They are controlled by a number of big brain fomori that I believe calling the shots and organizing the riots. My fear is even if I was at my sneakiest, my best, and I was able to pop the locks of the elevators to gain access, they'd mind whack me, or something. Val says that you can see them using cyber senses. A gift that I do not own yet, but I now realize I probably need it."

"I can teach you that one," Salem says, still looking thoughtful. "It's incredibly useful, especially in the dark."

Briari perks up a bit, giving a wide grin. "I will trade you then, please, pretty please? What do you want to learn off me? Trick Shot? Diagnostics? Spider's Song?"

Salem's smile is thin and crooked. "Diagnostics. I've been meaning to learn that one for a while. But I'll teach you Cybersenses first. Though," he adds dryly, "that still leaves fomori that can screw with your mind even if you can see them."

"Well, that is just an assumption so far. I haven't heard of them actually messing with someone's mind, but the fact they seem to be telepathically linked would mean there is a high chance." Briari taps her fingers against her jawline. "Here is a question I've been dying to ask. We got an armory?"

Salem raises an eyebrow. "We do, but you'd have to talk to Mouse or Rina for the details."

"Well, if we have sniper rifles, we can take the invisible fomori out that way by combining cyber senses and popping them from a distance. At least those who may be guarding the building from the outside." Briari says with a nod of her head. "And, I don't need your weapons in general, I can make a phone call and daddy can drop me off almost whatever I really need. He's the CEO of a weapon's manufacturer for the government. I can probably get some really neat bullets that explode or something."

"Hm." Salem rubs his chin. "The problem, as I see it, is that big violence is apt to draw big attention. Police, FBI, all kinds of eyes on this city that we don't want. And shipments can be traced. Your father could get in a lot of trouble if it's found out that he sent you something that was used in what will probably be seen as a terrorist attack. Especially if what he's sent is illegal. Plus, there are civilians working in that building, ne? Just as there are here in Maxwell."

Thinking for a moment, Briari taps a few more times on her screen, tilting it to one side. "My father is a billionaire with politicians in his pocket." She says in a voice that shows she is unconcerned. "Do you have any ideas?"

Salem's eyes narrow a little, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. "An Umbral attack is hazardous, but we wouldn't have to worry about the Veil, the authorities, /or/ civilians getting killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's also less likely that we'll have to deal with the fomori, since most fomori cannot cross the Gauntlet. The Banes are an issue, but we have some incredibly skilled Theurges in this Sept, and we could perhaps round up some spirit allies. Like Excelsior's patron."

"So, we go with plan A then." Briari says as she taps away at her phone, then pulls up another schematic on the projector that reveals the tower, then cloaks it in darkness and adds some spider webs for effect that she was working on. "I will partner with the coyotes for a lookie-loo then on the other side and get a headcount on those banes that are guarding the tower. Then I will add their positions to the slide. I was thinking we can use the 'pull' method to dispatch them. Have a group draw one or two away at a time, dispatch them, then repeat. That way we can prevent an over-running."

There's a knock, knock at the heavy security door, but instead of opening it after, as has become habit the past few days, the security monitor shows Ghost leaning against the door frame, looking...well, frankly, looking rather sickly. She's paler than usual, and looks quite tired even from the camera's angle.

"I don't think..." Salem glances at the security monitor, frowns, and limps over to let Ghost in.

As Salem heads over to the door, Briari glances to the camera, then disappears from sight with a blur. Her backpack and computer is subtly missing as well. Ninja, vanish.

Ghost has mostly gathered herself by the time Salem opens the door, but she gives him a look that's half embarrassed, half grateful. "Thanks. Sorry." Her eyes are pretty watery, but it doesn't look like she's been crying. "I'm uh, reporting in. Feel sick. Normal for me. Feel jittery as /fuck/ and can't lie down."

Salem frowns. "The feeling sick is normal, but the jittery is not?"

Ghost nods tightly as she slips inside the Hub proper. "Earthquake," she says, as if that explained anything. "Figured it was nerves, you know? Except uh, except it hasn't really gone away. It's like I'm running the worst kind of caffeine high. Feeling sick started with it too. Feeling sick is...happens with me. I get too injured. Sometimes just because. But this? Pretty coincidental. So. Uh. Sorry. So I'm here."

"Sit," the boy commands, pointing to the old couch in the entertainment area. "I suspected that the quakes had something to do with the Wyld and the mountains, and those do seem connected to the Nothing." He grimaces. "Fuck me if I know how, though. But." He eyes her. "The local Wyld spirits are all in a goddamn tizzy, like children just before Christmas. Potentially violent and dangerous children."

"Sounds like Wyld spirits," Ghost quips, with a faint grimace. She goes immediately to the couch and sits down on the edge of it. There's no hint of relaxation about her, and it's probably a wonder one leg doesn't start bouncing up and down. "Is your place out there okay? The news was saying it was worse out east."

Salem remains standing, arms folded across his chest. "More or less. There's some new growth, but... no damage to the caern itself. Hell, I'm fairly certain that the tree we have in the center's gotten /larger/." He shakes his head.

Ghost starts to mimic his body language, folding her own arms, but she ends up mostly hugging them. It's fairly clear that the mere act of sitting is testing her, as while she remains seated she doesn't exactly remain /still/. There are muscle twitches, fidgets. Her breathing remains quick and shallow. "That's good," she says. "No damage I mean."

Salem eyes her. "We need to get you to calm down somehow. How well does alcohol work with your system?"

"Metis," Ghost says sheepishly. "Not well. Not uh, not normal alcohol anyway, not unless I drink a lot of it really fast, and not for very long. But then, I don't know, I've never tried to get drunk feeling like this." She closes her eyes for a moment, and makes an attempt at breathing a little slower and more deeply. "Normally when I get sick, all I want to do is sleep it off."

Salem grimaces. "That's what I thought. Are you feeling up at all for some sparring to work off the excess energy?" His tone suggests that he won't be surprised if she says no.

"Sparring." Ghost seems to roll the word over her tongue as she repeats it. Considers it. "Yeah." She stands up rather too quickly for it to be a natural, non-agitated action, and her fingers are visibly twitching against her arms. "At least a little? We can give it a shot. Daniel used to make me...when I felt sick like this, but wasn't injured. Sometimes when I was. You know, to prepare."

Salem nods and heads for the stairs. "Let's go to the roof so we don't disturb anyone."

Ghost turns and follows him, still clutching her arms, but looking a little more focused now that an activity is in the picture.