Little Bear tries indeed not to think about that as he walks. Should I try shifting back up now?

Sepdet is watching Leonard stump around like his skin's on too tight. ~Go for it.~|

Currently the moon is in the waxing No Moon phase (12% full).

Little Bear nods, pausing, thinking about just how to do this. He shifts quickly up to crinos, then closes his eyes, getting his mind right, imaging the fabric reemerging out of the fur and reconstituting back into plain old grey sweatpants as he shrinks back down, through glabro, to homid.

Yi comes trudging up the hill, somewhat noisily as opposed to her normally stealthy appearances. Her fists shoved into the pockets of her vest, she looks around momentarily, then slows her approach. A moment's pause, and she almost turns around to go back the way she came. But she only half turns, and watches from the shadows.

There's a faint ripping sound, and right down the outside thigh of one pantleg there seems to be an unravelled length of seam. ~Not bad. Not bad,~ the Strider observes. ~My first time I nearly strangled myself in the "t-shirt" they said I had to wear.~

Leonard opens his eyes, oops and catches it before Sepdet gets too much of a show. "Yi's gonna be mad."

Leonard manages to jury-rig his waistband with the tie from the same, leaving his leg visible through the slit up the pants on his left side, making him look like a reject from Fame. About as much cover as a loincloth and its warm, so he doesn't mind much. "Well, I guess that wasn't bad for my first time."

Yi tilts her head at the sound, barest hints of a smirk lost in the darkness.

Sepdet turns belatedly at the Gnawer's noisy approach, sniffs, and gives a soft call. ~Yi? How goes it with you sister? Bear says you had a case of unpleasant humans.~

Leonard blinks, turning in the direction Sepdet's talking while trying to hold his pantleg closed self-consciously.

Yi looks up at the skies, replying, "The world is unpleasant. The city, not an escape from it."

Sepdet frowns briefly, then skips a step towards her. ~Do I despair as the Wyrm stamps its spoor across the land?~ she says lightly, evidently quoting. ~Gaia no, I dance in its face.~

"Dance lightly, if you want to dodge bullets." Yi answers, still watching the skies. "You were away shortly, I heard."

Sepdet shakes her head. ~Was I? Umbra pulled me out too far again.~ She squints upwards, seeking the moon to confirm the date. ~I am sorry.~

Yi looks back over and shakes her head, walking up the hill and over to the two. "Don't apologize," she tells Sepdet. "It's your nature to stride. I will not be a chain around your neck." She gives Leonard a short nod before moving to sit on a spot of grass.

Leonard nods back, frowning thoughtfully. "Did something happen?"

Sepdet guesses with a wan smile, ~Rotem is being a chain.~ She moves to follow the Gnawer, kneeling to one side of her, far enough apart for personal space and close enough for friendship's silence.

Leonard looks at Yi concernedly. "Is he?" He joins Sepdet, sitting on the other side of Yi.

Yi draws out a paper, black ink barely visible in the dark as she tosses it down to her upclenched feet. "Not Rotem," she replies. "Home."

Leonard looks at the letter, then back at Yi. "What happened there?"

Sepdet grimaces. ~Ah. My second guess, but I didn't want to remind you if it weren't what was troubling.~ She looks at the paper worriedly. ~Have you been called?~

Soulcatcher, who had been napping nearby since earlier tonight, wakes. Lifting his nose to the air, he greets yi with a soft whine, shaking his ears a little.

Yi's fingers take the letter back, unfolding it slowly. It's written in scrawled black characters of the nomoon's eastern native language. She reads aloud, translating for them. "Dear Three-Blades... Well, I should call you Sister Yi shouldn't I?" The Gnawer smirks just slightly and continues, "How is America? We got your letter, and are very excited about the sept you found. Who would have known there were so many warriors of Gaia in the Sunset folk? You are packing with others? So Grandmother's tales were true, about so many other tribes. They seem very strange. How do you survive outside a city, where there are no chopsticks?" Again, she chuckles quietly.

Leonard cocks his head, but keeps his questions for the end, assuming Yi's not too upset about no chopsticks.

Sepdet relaxes slightly at the simple words, words bridging seas and time and worlds. ~We have sticks,~ she observes simply.

"The sewers over there sound like the streets of home, don't they? Except it is up to you and the others to string lights up. Here, we have all the neon signs and disco balls to light up the way." Yi presses on, eyes passing over the characters with little difficulty. "Grandmother was pleased to hear you are helping the fight wherever you are. Ken has been as hot headed as ever, but that is expected of him, since he is a fullmoon." Her eyes glance up at Soulcatcher momentarily and she gives him a short dip of her head before reading on. "He's a leader of the West Wind pack, under Dog. They have been keeping an eye on the leeches from Red Sand out of our territories for awhile. Yi... Bold is dead." The Gnawer swallows, dryly.

Sepdet shares a private look with Soulcatcher as she moves closer to touch Yi's shoulder lightly with a fingertip.

Leonard watches his packmate's face as she reads, resting his chin on his knees. At the last, he frowns, and touches her foot with his own, gingerly.

Yi takes a moment to run her hand through her hair. "He died along with some kin, fighting banes coming in from a Thai boat filled with fomor. It took almost four packs to clean it all up and sink the boat. Grandmother didn't want us to keep the Wyrm-ridden hull, which is probably a good thing." Her lips turn into a grim tightened line. "Sifu went back to the mountains for a short while, saying he would return in a few months. We miss him a lot, but he was called back for some tribal matter. While we know it is best, we could use his skills and his patience." Yi glances up and around at the light touches, offering a wan smile. "Sifu is a Stargazer," she explains. "There are few of them around, but even this sept has Rides-Fire-rhya. I admit I was impressed."

Leonard's expression says he's a lot less impressed than Yi is, but he doesn't interrupt her.

Sepdet sighs and glances skyward again.

Soulcatcher listens in silence, his amber-yellow eyes blinking slowly as he rests his head on Sepdet's leg.

"The sept has been doing fairly well. Almost the same as you left it," Yi reads on. "Almost. We've lost some territory to the Dragon's Fangs. Yes, the same gang." Yi's hand crinkles the paper slightly. "The Walkers took their men and changed their name to White Eagles. They are still battling with Black Snake, but it is pretty much a stalemate. Recently though, a new threat has come in. Pests. Spiders, snakes, and bloodsuckers to try and take the rat's territories. The rat battles on with cunning and courage, but without help, the rat will fall to the spider's bite and snake's venom. And the leech will suck their blood away. Still we fight on. I hope you will return someday, and find the rats still gnawing at the rice bins. Don't hate me, Sister Yi. It is all for Gaia." She lowers the paper to her feet gently. "Hanna, Burning-Silver."

Leonard glances from Sepdet to Yi, concerned but confused.

Sepdet's brows lift at the name. ~Honor to the Fallen, and honor to our fellows who fight for Gaia on the other shore,~ she recites as a blessing. ~You wish to go?~

Yi folds the paper and sticks it back into her vest pocket. "Hanna. Ken. Bold.. they are all my ritemates." She looks up to the stars, the sky twinkling amidst the dark. "I will go back to help them," she says quietly. "Soon, but not immediately." Her eyes go back to Sepdet, and then her other packmates. "I'm sorry."

Sepdet exhales. ~I understand the ties that pull,~ she says wistfully. Her eyes move towards the others. ~Do you wish road-companions?~

Leonard's shoulders slump at this news, and he looks at Yi beseechingly. At Sepdet's words, he looks down at his feet, hugging his knees close to him, eyes troubled.

Soulcatcher's eyes shift between packmates. Hen licks his muzzle--the only sign of his own concern that shows through at the moment.

Yi looks at her knees, head tilted as she breathes out a small sigh. Closing her eyes momentarily, she lets Sepdet's question mingle with the sound of breathing. "It probably wouldn't be wise to bring anyone with me. I have to sneak back into the country as is," she says quietly. "I'll need to plan, carefully. The fastest way is through an airport, and a plane. Depending if I can get papers, maybe I can go back without a fuss." She glances to the two Wendigo and offers a chuckle to lighten the invisible cloud. "Besides, I think you two can get enough city training in St. Claire."

Sepdet vows, ~Before you go we'll fill your mind with the glint of light on the water, on the scales, so you can take a part of the peace of this place with you,

Soulcatcher chuffs a short command, interrupting, You must come back, though.

Leonard stands, mumbling something about needing to check on the buffalo. He shifts down to lupus and lopes off abruptly.

Yi looks up at the stars, then down over to Soulcatcher. She smiles, faintly. "I don't make promises I can't keep." Her eyes stray over to Leonard, and she looks back to Sepdet and Soulcatcher, wondering if she should follow.

Sepdet whispers, ~Come down to the water.~ She starts towards the lake.

Yi stands slowly, hand slipping into her vest pocket as she follows Sepdet towards the lake.

Rainbow Lake(#2713RJ)
Long and narrow, the lake stretches a mile to the north and south, right at the heart of the woodland. Tall, silver beech trunks mix with the even taller evergreens and dominate the mountain valley. Where the canopy has been broken by a fallen tree, a riot of brambles and nettles have erupted, clinging to anything and everything and fighting for light among the thick forest. Underfoot there is a deep bed of mulch and last year's leaves, muffling any footfall.
Other plants have found a foothold where the beeches make way for the line of water. The edges of the lake are overhung by a wall of dark myrtle, their scent hanging sweet and heavy in the air, giving the place a dreamlike quality. The waters of the lake itself are a clear, unruffled indigo, dropping into bottomless darkness, with otherworldly reflections of the sky floating above the depths. Rainbow flashes of light play about the reeds and weeds that break the surface here and there, throwing colors into the air.
Part of the valley around the lakeside to the south is clear of trees, and often here in the brush and grass a small herd of three woods buffalo can be seen.
Contents:
Sepdet
Obvious exits:
West SouthEast

Yi walks a few paces behind Sepdet, eyes shifting around to take in the various sights and preserve them somewhere in her mind.

Sepdet makes her way to the cluster of beeches, her favorite stump stuck like a ships's prow over a short drop down to the water below. ~The ocean,~ she murmurs. ~The waters. All flow together, from ocean to sky to lake and back again. The cycle of rain. Salmon's journey is almost as far, and in the spirit world--who knows? Perhaps Silverscale can scale the raindrops as they go to the clouds.~ She breaks off her poetry and comes back to the present, barely. ~We are bound by these waters. And over us, no matter hnow far-- the same stars. See? Reflected, there, ande there. And in the river of stars in the sky above, which flow from shore to shore.~ She points to the Milky Way.

Looking at the various pointed places, Yi takes in a deep breath and exhales in a quiet sigh. "So vast, yet all still so close. In body, in mind, and in spirit."

Currently in Saint Claire, it is clear outside. The temperature is 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius). The wind is calm today. The barometric pressure reading is 30.20 and rising, and the relative humidity is 93 percent. The dewpoint is 52 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius.)

Sepdet admits, ~It's a little farther to walk for us, of course, than it is for the Garou spirits who travel the star-river or catch a ride with the boat of the sun. But do not forget. Here.~ She picks out Delphinus, a little kite-shaped constellation only visible in darker skies like this one. ~That is five stars, a fish shape. Let it remind you of us, where you are, and Salmon's ability to survive all her journeys.~

Yi glances up, trying to pick out the grouping that Sepdet points to. After a little while, she finally thinks she has it. "I'll remember here," she says quietly. "I'll always remember." Her gaze lowers back to a more earthly level. "That I can promise." She smiles at the Strider, and further off at the Wendigo.

Soulcatcher whines softly, though he doesn't let his own desire admit anything else with actual words. He pads toward the two garou and settles in the grass.

Sepdet smiles in return. ~And until you go we'll run together. That's all one needs to do. Worry about this part of the journey, here, savor every step.~ She settles down by Soulcatcher and slips a hand comfortingly into his fur. ~Look, you've won the heart of a Wendigo. There's something to amaze your friends!~

Yi kneels next to Soulcatcher, and reaches her hands around him, cautiously at first. Once her hands are around him though, she hugs him tightly. Her face buries into his thick fur, body tense with restraint. "I promise," she manages in a whisper, "I promise I won't forget." Her hands grip his fur, though not enough to hurt him but firmly. Gradually, she lets go and sinks back onto her heels, still kneeling and head bowed. Her breath exhales in a sigh. "I still have a quest to go on, after all," she says with a small smirk. "I can't be a proper 'Gnawdigo' without a Wendigo half to my name, right?"

[Right. :) Well, maybe we'll finish this scene, or maybe we'll leave it there. We'll see...]