Leonard is sitting in front of a roaring fire, working a buckskin by rolling it up and then unrolling it.

Yi hikes up the bluffside, hair tied up and away from her face with just some rebellious strands flowing freely. Sweatjacket tied around her waist, she slows as the scent of fire reaches her, and walks swiftly up the rest of the way. Seeing the Wendigo she lifts a hand and waves. "Hey Little Bear. Working again on skins?"

Leonard glances up and graces you with a rare smile, nodding. "Yep. Winter's coming. And we'll need potlatch clothes." He looks you over. "You look good."

Yi looks up at the sky. "Winter? It's only September," she notes before glancing back at the Wendigo with a small wan smile. "I've been better." She rubs a scarred arm behind her neck. "Everytime I see you, you're working on skins. But who are all these skins for?"

Leonard stands and stretches slowly. "Well... Some are for blankets. Some are for shirts and leggings. Some are for tents or to repair the sweathouses. Some are for moccasins."

Yi approaches a little closer, sniffing at the skin and wrinkling her nose when it gives off a slightly pungent smell. "I suppose so. But don't they smell after a while?"

Leonard chuckles. "If you don't take care of them, sure. Just like your clothes would if you left them outside."

Yi nods, though she wouldn't have a clue how to wash this type of propose animal skin clothing. Like most people in cities take leather jackets to someone who knows how to clean them. "You are very skilled to always be able to catch deer," she murmurs with a slight tilt of her body to stretch.

Leonard shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets and watching you expectantly. "When its that or go hungry or naked..."

Yi eyes Leonard's pockets, and chews on her lip thoughtfully. "You know if you ever need anything, I can get clothing or something from the stores too. Don't have to go preying on the wildlife, or something..." In a moment of distraction she gestures vaguely at the Wendigo's pockets. "Are you sure it's ok to put your hands in there after working with that thing?"

Leonard laughs at that. "All I was doing was keeping it from stiffening up." He pulls his hands out and shows you. "Its fine. This one's almost done. And thanks. I might take you up on that later. In fact, if you're ready and don't have anything to do for the next few days, we could that dry run..."

"Ah?" Yi peers at the galliard with an odd look of confusion. "Dry run?"

Leonard nods, glancing at the river. "For Dana. Remember?"

Yi blinks a few more times, before she remembers. "Oooh. Mm..." She also looks at the river, as if half expecting the said person to appear out of nowhere. "No, I don't think I have anything in particular. Hopefully it won't take too long though? I promised some elders and their cubs that I would help with this thing they keep calling 'newmoon training'." She adds a hint of a chuckle to the end of the sentence. "But no, I don't have anything planned really. Where is this place you wanted me to scout?"

Leonard nods. "Well, first, you're going to need to be bathed. Let me know if its too...rough." He moves down towards the river, unbuttoning his shirt.

Yi ers hesitantly. "Bathe...d?" She blinks as Leonard starts to remove his shirt. "Uhm..." With a confused look that doesn't seem to disappear, she follows him down to the river. The newmoon though, doesn't look like she's about to strip down for anybody. Not even her packmate.

Leonard wades into the river, then looks at you expectantly. "You did say you'd help. Look at it as a baptism."

Yi clears her throat, even the soft noise of that filled with some sudden hesitation. "I... uh..." Second thoughts? You bet.

Leonard puts his hands on his hips and waits patiently. "I have to see if this'll be too much for her."

A sillhouette in the forest, moving without sound, becomes more and more discernable from the dark shapes of tall oaks and anicent boulders in the woods. The tall Native American teen known as Tyler steps, or slows down to a step, into the sunlight. He is covered in sweat, and actually steaming in the cool afternoon air. He wipes his brow with a thick hand, and stretches his arms out in front of him, scowling with sharp canines. He looks up to the two on the Bluff, reaching back to scratch his bare back before walking towards the them.

Too much already, perhaps, but only for the Gnawer. Still, she remembers her promise. Promises must be kept. Holding back the resolute sigh, she sits down upon the bank of the stream and starts taking off her shoes, socks, and sweats. Underneath of course, are a pair of biker shorts. Her hair tie comes off, stuffed into the pocket of the sweats.

Leonard nods, glancing over at Tyler as he approaches. "Hey, cool. You can help. Grab me some horsetail from the bank there, would you?"

Tyler stops midstride, as if he's unsure of what the hell he's walking into. 'Cool...?' he mouths. He continues towards the stream and the two other Garou, leaning over to rip some horsetail, soiled roots and all, from a dark patch of ground by the side of the stream. He leaps across to stand next to Leonard, his glabro form towering over the galliard. He hands over the horsetail, and crosses his arms, looking breifly to Yi. "Do I even want to know...?"

Leonard grins. "I want an outside's view on some of our... traditions. We're gonna be adopting someone and I want to make sure I don't kill her."

Yi jumps as Leonard addresses another. "Who..." Turning to see, she blinks as she recognizes Tyler. Ok, now that's weird. "Uh... is this enough, Leonard?" The Gnawer looks heavily embarrassed at this situation, nearly bare in just a loose tanktop and biker shorts. The scars all over her body run all over like wild lines of tattoos, and only now with her feet fully revealed do the scarrings around her ankles show. "Someone tell me why I volunteered for a possible suicide mission? At least, you're making it sound like it is..."

Tyler waves the two off, and heads into the cave, holding his muscular arms behind his head.

Leonard shakes his head. "It'll be hard on a human. I want to make sure its not too hard. As a Garou you should be fine." He motions her over when Tyler mutely excuses himself, taking he plants. "Just kneel, alright?"

Yi gets up and moves over, her steps a little slow in their response. She kneels easily though - the motion must be a very tuned habit.

Leonard nods encouragingly, studying her scars as she does so. He starts ripping the roots off the weeds then begins to scrub at Yi's shoulder. Hard. It feels like a brillo pad.

Yi winces just briefly at the feeling of the weeds. No real objection comes from her save a couple of tensing muscles when Leonard reaches a body part she happens to be sensitive about.

Leonard scrubs until she bleeds, quite methodically, getting most extremeties but avoiding her face.

Yi swallows hard as the scent of blood and feelings of stinging come with the scrubbing. She grits her teeth together, jaw tensing with restraint to keep from moving. Inwardly she forces herself to remember that she is not trapped or bound. It is a process of purifying, not pain. The Gnawer remains silent through the whole operation.

Leonard finally finishes, and leans back, looking at you. "How was that? She'll be going through a sweat lodge before hand, so..."

When the scrubbing is finished and Leonard steps away, Yi lets go a withheld exhale. She nods slowly. "I'm ok. Sweat lodge?"

Leonard nods, motioning you to stand. "Now we go. Wear the man, okay? She'll have to walk this. Here." He moves out of the water as he speaks, and tosses you a simple shift of deerskin, the size of an overgrown shirt. "Put that on. She'll be wearing that."

Yi stands, catching the shirt and turning the deerskin around a few times to look at it. Afterwards she slips it on, sniffing at the odd smell not too unlike leather but feeling it to be somewhat comfortingly soft against her still tingling skin. "Wear the man?" she finally asks.

Leonard nods. "Stay like you are. No changing from here on." He moves down the path, following the river, but turns towards the mountains instead of the usual path along the stream.

You head back into the forest along the faint trail.

Bawn: Foothills of the Mountains(#2986RAh)
The hills that rise here are roughened by the frequent rains, and rocky places show through the grasses and shrubs that grown in the clearings. Trees grow as often from shallow soil on rocky hillocks as from real loam. Occassional boulders show through like the bones of ancient creatures, covered with spreading patches of moss and lichen. The land is rough, and the weight of the ancient hills gives the place a chilling quality. The stones seem to resent intrusion.
No visible delimiter marks the eastern edge of the Bawn, only scent-marks and occasional scratches on trees. To the west, the hills become softer and the covering forest thicker, while to the east, the rocky slopes of the foothills become mountainous in truth, and the tree cover thins. I-90 to the north and the railroad to the south provide the remaining edges to this region.
Contents:
Leonard
Obvious exits:
Two Eagles Bluff Silent Valley South North East Thunder Cave West

Yi ohs and follows along, stepping somewhat gingerly on her barefeet after the Wendigo. This is perhaps, the oddest thing she's really done out here.

You head eastward a few miles, up into the mountains.

Blue Mountains, Northern Extreme(#2521RAJ)
The tops of the mountain peaks are shrouded clouds, and snow dusts them until late in the spring. Though still thick in places, the treecover thins as one climbs in elevation. Still, some few evergreens clump together in isolated copses even near the rocky summits. Streams run through this area in abundance, cutting deep gullies in the mountainside and rushing down to feed the thick forest below. To the east, the mountainous terrain continues, eventually merging with the Rockies many miles from here. To the north, things smooth somewhat into the collection of foothills and rough land that makes up the highlands of the Columbia basin. Nothing of interest is visible in either direction. To the south lies the main branch of the north range of the Blue Mountains, while to the west the trees thicken and a forest spreads out over the feet of the peaks.
Contents:
Leonard
Obvious exits:
High Promontory Rainbow Lake South West

You travel through the mountains and up the narrow, treacherous path that winds its way to the high promontory.

High Promontory
A flat table of stone stretches away for ten or twenty feet in every direction, forming a smallish promontory that juts out of the ever-ascending mountainside to the east, hanging over the lowlands below. The view from up here is both astounding and humbling; to the west, the evergreen forests of the lower flatland stretch away towards the ocean, the treetops clouded in mist, the land cut through with blue streams that feed into the far-off river. Beyond the river, the lights of the city are just barely visible. At this height, the air is just beginning to thin, and the act of breathing becomes vaguely dizzying; the sky itself is an almost palpable force, vaulting high above and to either side. Near the center of the stone expanse, the rock has been blackened with what looks to be the soot of countless bonfires; sticks, twigs, and the remains of wooden poles can be seen lying here and there.
A fair-sized cave opening enters into the rock on the east side of the promontory; to the west, a makeshift trail heads back down the mountainside.
Contents:
Leonard
Obvious exits:
Trail Cave

Leonard pauses, not going near the edge of the promontory. "This is where you'll stay for the next three days. You can take shelter in the cave but I wouldn't build a fire. Might attract attention. Mostly you'll just sit and stay silent. Noone should come up here to bother you. I'll be nearby if you need anything." He looks at you.

Yi looks out from the promontory, viewing the landscape and its beauty with an overwhelmed sense of awe. She's never gone up here before, or seen anything like this. Even Victoria Peak at Hong Kong looked out over the Weaver's cold heart beating in Central District. She takes it in as if her eyes were blank canvas, with the image of the view being painted onto her vision. "Wow..." she murmurs softly, nearly missing the Wendigo's words. Then she shakes herself and blinks a couple of times to come back. "I just, sit out here and ... just sit out here?"

Leonard nods. "Be silent. Think. Listen."

Yi looks hesitantly at Leonard some more, before moving a little closer to the promontory edge. Still, she keeps a very ample distance between the perilous drop and herself, an innate sense of danger keeping her from going closer. "Ok," she replies with a whisper, choosing her spot to sit down. Her head turns to look over her shoulder at the galliard. "What do I do if I get hungry, or... have to go to the... restroom....?"

Leonard nods towards the cave. "There's water in there. And you don't eat on a vision quest. If you have to go, go in the bushes. After a day or so you shouldn't really have to."

Yi looks at the cave and nods slowly in confirmation. "Like meditating... right." The Gnawer draws in a long breath, and exhales slowly. "How long do I do this?"

Leonard watches your face. "Til I come get you. usually takes about three days."

Yi's expression carries a varied lot of emotion, and still a seemingly calm mask is pulled over it all. Skepticism, hesitation, self-doubt, confidence... underneath it all a whirlpool of confused thoughts that were never sorted. "Ok." With that, the Gnawer nods and turns back to watch the landscape for awhile. Scouting the mountains...right.

Leonard nods. "If something tries to grab you, see if its real before hollering." Andwith that encouraging note, he's gone as if he'd never been standing there, leaving you alone with the wind and the slowly setting sun.

Yi doesn't particularly make any more noise as the Wendigo disappears. She's done this meditation thing quite a lot, but never in a setting such as this. Never for three days straight. For now, she starts off on a hopeful note, listening to the wind and watching the scenery.

The night passes silently, with no threats, mundane or supernatural, to interrupt your increasingly loud thoughts. The only sound you hear is the wind, and around moonrise even that dies down so that there is nothing but utter silence. An occasional bird sounds, startling you, and once or twice the fickle breeze brings sounds of cicadas from the lowlands, but for the most part it is just you, the mountain, and your thoughts. Around midnight the sky clears, and you are surrounded by more stars than you thought existed, utterly enveloping you.

[And we (Leonard GM and I) agree that to speed things up, we handwave the first two days of starving Gnawdigo dom!]

Yi continues her sitting spree, having only moved a few times in the span of two days to do things like sipping water or attending to personal needs. Her thoughts have ranged anywhere from how beautiful the landscape is, to horrifying rememberance of the things that have happened to her over the short span of her life. Somehow through all this silence, she searches for something. Herself.

The second day passes quietly as well, though you sit still enough that once, near twilight, a mountain goat appears twenty feet above you on the scree, standing and watching you for a moment or two before bounding away. The hunger you feel when you first wake up is assauged by the water, but only briefly, and pesters you throughout the day, only fading when night returns again. That night a storm rolls in from the west, causing you to take shelter in the dark cave.

Yi doesn't sit too far from the cave's entrance. The mountain goat got a strange look from her, followed by awe at having such wild animals up close. The Gnawer finds a small bit of solace in listening to the storm. It echoes the whirling thoughts that go through her hungry, ever so slightly paranoid mind. Soon enough, the newmoon is bugged by a real need. A need to talk. To hear someone, anyone. The periods of silence don't pass very well for her. Pangs of hunger only sharpen the sting of loneliness. Her parents, dead at the hands of the HK underworld, left her alone in her family apartment. Then she'd found Li. Again, she'd felt alone when she first changed, driving her self-adopted sister and best friend out of her life forever. Then the Gnawers of Rat's Tail found her. She had to face the claustrophobia of being locked in a closet sized apartment for months at a time in hiding from wrathful gangs. Then again, when she spent a month lying in a crate of raw, stinking fish waiting to dock at St. Claire. She was alone when she arrived in this sept, but it wasn't even a few seconds before she had family around her. It wasn't long before she'd made friends and had good times with them. Then, when Jay died, she'd felt alone again. More and more, her thoughts turn back the time and play forward, like an overwatched video tape. And all this rise and fall of lonesome feelings, sting her like no other pain her torturer of the recent past could inflict upon her. The Gnawer stands up and starts pacing restlessly at the mouth of the cave.

Its dark. Pitch dark. The only light is from the occasional flash of lightning as the storm rolls overhead. A small rockslide chases you further into the cave, away from the wind and the rain and the falling stones.

Yi sighs softly as the rocks tumble. It's about the same as her thoughts, rolling around endlessly. A few more paces, and she sits back down towards the back of the cave. Darkness, lit only by flashes of lightning. She starts questioning just why she's here. What's the point? Was she doing this to as a real favor? Where was this supposed danger that Leonard kept implying at? The Gnawer crosses up her legs, facing the storm. Closing her eyes so her world becomes dark, she again tries to concentrate on meditating, ignoring the rumble that comes from her stomach.

You sit, there in the dark, storm overhead blocking your hearing, for you don't know how long. Slowly, so slowly you don't notice it at first, the sounds of the whistling wind becomes high voices, and the sound of the thunder is like a drum.

Yi does a mental blink. Her ears tune into the wind when she thinks she's hearing messages, or the rumble of the thunder losing its random thrum and gaining a rhythm. Or is that just her heartbeat? The Gnawer though, doesn't open her eyes. Sight is virtually useless in the dark anyway. Her eyelids flutter lightly with the reflex to open her eyes and look, but she stubbornly keeps her vision cut off. Tell me something, Winds...

The voices are chanting in a language unknown to you, a wailing, keening sound that seems to go as naturally with the drum as thunder with lightning. The drum matches time with your heartbeat, and you almost think you can feel the heat of a fire on your face.

You paged Leonard with 'Does it happen to sound like voices I know? Or is it just a general keening.'.

Leonard pages: Just a general keening, a few voices raised in unison.

Leonard pages: Sound like yayayayayayayay heyayayayayayaya

Yi wants desperately to speak, but something tells her not to. Respectful silence, perhaps, to echo the seemingly mourning tone that the voices on the wind echo to the thunder drums. As much as she can't repeat the voices vocally, though, her heart starts to attune itself with the drumming. The feeling of the hunting rhythm, one that she'd felt a long while ago, rises within. The inner wolf kept inside, raises its spirit song in her mind. Yi steadies her breathing as best she can though the itch to move her limbs shoots up and down her limbs.

Someone's here. You can feel the presence, even with your eyes closed. The singing continues unabated, the sounds of the storm fading further.

Yi squeezes down her eyelids, now that someone is here. Or, she thinks someone is here. No doubt hallucinations are something she's familiar with. What did Leonard say, a few days ago... don't holler unless she's sure it's real? But it feels so real... the heat on her face at least. A spot on her forehead starts a nervous twitch, as she attempts to feel with some part of her. The hairs on the back of her neck lift, both fear and excitement spurring the Gnawer on. Someone's here. If it's true, then she won't have to feel lonely. A back part of her continues to listen to the winds and thunder, the way one notices background music amidst performing other tasks. The way she inwardly thrums a rhythm when she practices her martial arts. The way the land seems to beat with a heartbeat, even in the cold Weaverbound city. Yi's arms tense in the coldness of the cave as if she were attempting to send out a part of her to feel around for whatever is there in the cave with her.

The presence is there, the storm is lost amid the drums and the chanting. You can feel whatever it is reaching out towards you...

Yi finally cannot resist it any longer. Her eyes flare open, adjusting to the darkness without much trouble for having been closed so long. Still it takes a few seconds for her to gather enough sensory information and piece together her surroundings. She looks around anxiously, having felt something. "Hello?" she whispers softly, her voice lost to the howls of the winds outside.

A face, horribly painted, looms just inches from yours, backlit by a flickering fire from whence the sound of the drums and the crying song come. It hisses, 'The storm is coming!' There's a bright flash of light and a roaring peal of thunder, jerking you up...and awake, where you are curled on the floor of the cave. The false light of Dawn can be seen outside the cave.

You paged Leonard with 'The storm is coming! In...what language?'.

Leonard pages: You understood it, though upon later reflection you'll realize it was in a language you don't speak. :)

Yi takes a minute, when suddenly it seems like there is no storm, or no scary face. She mutters something softly to herself in her native language, something along the lines of what the hell was that? Sitting up again after realizes it was a dream. Or was it? The Gnawer blinks some more, rubbing her eyes with the back of her grubby hand. A grunt later, she feels those hunger pangs coming back. But what her mind swirls around is the face, trying to remember its details, the way one starts to forget the dream that fades when one is jolted awake. "The storm is coming?" she echoes to herself, though in her native eastern language. What was that supposed to mean? Only the dawn seems to be her companion, as she gets up to look outside of the cave.

Her forward movement is stopped by a small squeaky voice. "Sounds to me like it means trouble's brewing, but you never know."

Yi stops in her tracks, turning in the direction of the voice. "Who's there?" she calls out, followed by an immediate wince. Man, talk about your stereotypical movie lines. Straightening up, she looks around for the squeaker.

You paged Leonard with 'Waaait. That squeaky voice was talking in Cantonese?'.

Leonard pages: Yup.

You look around, not seeing anyone, until an impatient huff brings your attention down to the floor - where a normal rat sits, fiddling with its whiskers. Its pink nose wiggles rabbitlike at you. "Now you're thinking."

Yi blinks a couple of times. Indeed she thinks. Thinks she might actually be going crazy, to be hearing a rat speaking Cantonese. The Gnawer bends down, peering at the rat with furrowed brow. "Uh... good morning," she says, carrying on the conversation nonetheless. "What did you mean, trouble brewing? Was that you... in my dream?"

The rat snorts. "Do I look like a Wendigo to you? No. And it wasn't a dream. This isn't a dream either." It scampers up onto your foot. "Where are your shoes? Your Mother would have a fit you out here in the wilderness, no shoes on." It tsks disapprovingly.

Yi offers the rat a seat in her palm. "Wasn't a dream..." she murmurs softly, thinking about that. At least, until the rat squeaks its question at her. "Uhm... well... my friend Leonard, wanted me to come out here and see if this place was safe... and I had to take off my shoes for that." She blinks some more. Gaia, what a confusing situation this is. "What's wrong with not wearing shoes? Safer out here barefoot than in the city." Then she points at the rat's paws with her other hand's finger. "You don't wear shoes either." Great. I'm arguing with a rat. Yi shakes her head and eyes the rat a few more times, just to make sure it really is real.

The rat laughs. "So, there's still a bit of the old fire left there, eh? Well, good. You'll need it." The rat examines your hand, running a clawed finger down the most prevalent scar at your wrist. "You're an awfully long way from the city."

Yi gazes at the claw running over her wrist, her smile that had creeped up fading a touch. "I know," she acquieses. "But I told Leonard I would help him with this. And so here I am, out in the middle of nowhere, talking to you. A rat, speaking like Peng, from school. He had a squeaky voice too." The Gnawer's smile regains a little crease of humor. "Why are you out here..." she pauses, lacking in a name for the rodent. "... Rat?"

The rat settles into a sitting position, smoothing its tail haughtily. "Rat can live everywhere and anywhere, and usually does. Rat is a survivor." He looks down his nose at you, whiskers twitching. "You are a child of Rat."

Yi also settles into a sitting position carefully, making sure not to jiggle her hand too much in the process. She nods at the statement. "I am a child of Rat. And you, are looking at me like my level two Chinese teacher." She chuckles softly, before returning her thoughts back to that face in her dream. If trouble was coming... where was it coming from? And what kind of trouble? Her mind starts slipping away from the rat in her hand again.

The rat, apparently not taking being ignored lightly, nips a fingertip, and continues its own strange litany. "Rat knows there is safety in numbers. You are a child of Rat."

Yi starts slightly when her finger gets a nip, looking back down at the rat. "Safety in numbers, yes, but sometimes being... alone... is good too. Easier to sneak around." Like playing The Fool, she counters the Rat's litany with her own statements.

The rat's beady little eyes twinkle knowingly. "But you don't like being alone."

Yi sucks on a tooth. "It's hard to be alone sometimes. Like now, at least I have someone to talk to," she says to the rat. "I have no idea what I'd have done if I had to stay here and be silent for a long time. I don't know how Sifu did it." She shrugs and looks back at the rat curiously. "Wait... wait you said that my dream was real. That this is real too... what do you mean my dream was real?"

The rat looks at her almost amusedly. "What is real?" It drops to all fours, stretches briefly, and noses the scars on her wrist. "Are these real?" The scars fade.

Yi blinks a few times, staring at her wrist as the scars fade away. "Wha...?" Her incredulous look is obvious. The scars that were so real just disappeared. Or... she turns her gaze from her wrist to the rat. The confusion evident, she looks to the rodent for answers.

The Rat looks at her. "The Rat knows there is safety in numbers," he says again, scampering up her arm and perching on her shoulder. "You are a child of Rat." He pokes his nose into her ear, then with a push from his hind legs, works his way into her ear.

Yi squeaks in surprise, as the rat suddenly starts disappearing into her head. Aiee! She topples over from her sitting position, hand going up to her ear.

You feel the skinny tail disappear into your ear, and hear the voice of the Rat inside your head, a but muffled. "Scars here, too. Well, you are a child of Rat. Rat is seldom pretty. But Rat is a survivor. You are a child of Rat. There is safety in numbers." The voice turns amused. "And next time, I don't care what some stubborn Wendigo tells you, bring some food. I'm starving here!"

Yi blinks in the light of the morning, completely bewildered. But it's true... she -is- starving. Amidst the odd feeling that accompanies one having a rat pushing itself into one's ear and wrapping around the brain, she stumbles up to her feet and takes a sip of the water bag first before heading towards the cave's mouth, towards the light.

The rat cheers her on. "Atta girl! Remember - safety in numbers! Rat is a survivor! What is real? Eat something!" As she stumbles into the light, she awakens again, again finding herself lying in the mouth of the cave, a patch of sunlight shining on her face before its blocked by someone moving.

Yi squints as light beams into her eyes, a hand reaching over to shade her vision before the rays are blocked. She sits up again, slower this time, half expecting to be jumped on by dozens of rats tumbling from stormclouds in the clear blue sky.

The figure kneels, and Leonard's face is brought into focus by the combination of your squinting and shading. He looks a little worried -- and fuzzy, as if he's not quite focused. "Hey."

Make that, Cantonese talking rats tumbling from the-- wait, an actual face. "Uh?" That's about as coherent as she is at first, before Leonard's face registers. "Leonard..." Both her hands come up immediately to cup his features, turning his head side to side, the Gnawer's eyes scrutinizing him for any paint or... she stops, realizing the scars on her wrist and arm are still there. The Gnawer blinks a couple times, and lets go of the galliard. A pause. "I'm hungry."

Leonard blinks a the sudden inspection, then nods. "Thought you might be. Let's get you down." He offers you a hand up.

Yi takes the hand, using it as leverage along with the wall of the cave's mouth to push herself back to her feet. "Leonard," she murmurs softly. "Your tribe has the strangest methods of making someone think."

Leonard braces himself for some reason, glancing at her wryly. "As opposed to your tribe..." His bracing becomes apparent when the cave starts to fuzz into whiteness as you stand, and your knees feel curiously weak.

Yi stops from trying to stand, lack of strength and that feeling of consciousness ebbing. The Gnawer leans against the cave's mouth, not even her grip on the galliard's hand has much strength behind it. Suffice to say, her body is still on it's starvation cycles. "Strength in numbers..." she utters softly.

Leonard nods agreeably, slipping an arm around your waist and half-carrying, half-dragging you out into the painfully bright sunlight. "Strength in numbers. And in venison. We'll go slow."

Yi winces at the sun's rays, wondering for just a moment and looking back towards the mouth of the cave as the two packmates depart. Her eyes squint, perhaps imagining a little rat sitting with whiskers twitching just inside the mouth's shadow.

Leonard gives up trying to help you walk down the steep rocky path and just carries you until you reach firmer ground, setting you gingerly on your feet. "Everything okay?"

Yi wobbles a little, spreading her feet a little more so to balance herself. "A little tired, confused... and really hungry," she replies. "But yes, I'll survive." She attempts a faint smile, something she's not too weak to do.

Leonard nods, walking her the rest of the way back.

Two Eagles Bluff(#3332RJ)
To the northeast, the foothills climb upwards into the steep, snow-capped crags and mountains. Here, the tall summer grasses bend in sporadic waves as the wind dances on the bluff. The evergreens and aspens give way to an open field that lends itself to a panoramic and picturesque view to the south and east. A small stream wends its way unobtrusively through the eastern edge of the mountain's crags, the scent and sound of trickling water clear on the hesitant but almost incessant breeze. Wildflowers litter the green of the grass, coloring them with touches of violet and bright oranges, yellows and blues. Tucked in along the sloped wall of the forested foothills to the northeast is a well-worn section of ground.
Contents:
Leonard
Obvious exits:
Stream Cave Trail

Leonard settles you by the banked coals of the fire, and gets some more water, fresh and cold from the stream, and hands it to you. "Drink that. If you feel faint, lie down. I don't need you pitching headfirst into the fire." He moves to the cave, coming back a few minutes later with some dried meat.

When the trail gets a little more familiar back to the bluff, Yi reaches a small patch beside the normal fire building pit and flops down. The water disappears quickly, and instead of lying down she leans back and supports her weight on her elbows. When the Wendigo comes back, she takes the dried meat gently from him. And then promptly chomps down, tearing into it with surprising gusto.

Leonard smiles at the sign of a good appetite, sitting next to her and waiting for her to finish.

Yi is beyond manners at the moment, simply tearing, chewing, swallowing on impulse. Halfway through the slab she pauses, glancing at the Wendigo with the piece of dried meat stuck between her jaws. The Gnawer ducks her head, looking a little embarrassed.

Leonard shakes his head, amused, and motions for her to continue on.

Yi eats a bit slower, but not necessarily any less speedy. The meat disappears quickly, and it isn't too long before she's almost licking her fingers. Yi leans back, a child-like smile of 'Finally I have food in my stomach!' washing over her features. "That was the best piece of dried, dead deer I've had."

Leonard chuckles. "Glad you liked it."

Yi licks at her lips, tasting the residue of the venison on it, before sitting back up again to look at Leonard. For a bit, she simply gazes at him, her expression a mix of thoughtfulness and wonder at the galliard.

Leonard watches you fondly as you get settled, then becomes a bit flustered as you stare, toying with his bootlaces.

Yi apparently is completely unaware about her clothes. Her thoughts are on the weird dreams. "So... I guess the place up there is safe," she utters quietly, eyes flickering in their gaze from the bootlaces to his face and back down. "But... uhm... well I had some strange dreams. And one of them... a painted person... with a really ugly face, appeared right in my face and said 'The storm is coming,' and Rat said that it meant trouble, or..." The Gnawer fades, realizing she's rambling again.

Leonard sits up straight, listening intently. "Go on." He doesn't seem to think this sounds weird at all.

Yi straightens up in her crosslegged sitting position, hands coupling around her bare ankles. "Well, the first day, when you'd left, nothing really happened. Other than feeling hungry when I went to sleep. The second day, things were the same, except that I was more hungry. So I went into the cave to drink some more water, and decided to meditate inside. Only, I think I fell asleep. I dreamt there was a storm, and the winds were howling outside. I was thinking of all the things that have happened to me. And the rain, the thunder... the winds started to sound like voices. And the thunder, like a drum. And I kept sitting, trying to listen." The Gnawer chews on her lip some. "The wind sounded like chanting. And the thunder drummed like my heartbeats. And everything seemed to come together... until then I felt like something was reaching for me, and opened my eyes. And this painted faced man was there, and he said 'The storm is coming!'"

Leonard frowns, brow furrowing. "Huh." He seems puzzled by something. "He spoke English?"

Yi thinks a little bit about that strange vision, shaking her head at Leonard. "He said it in some language. But I understood. It sounded something like..." The Gnawer pauses to remember, before repeating what it seemed to be. "Then there was a flash of lightning, and I woke up. It was so real, but not real. And the second dream... well I woke up right? But I didn't wake up. I didn't realize that I woke up into a second dream." She screws up her lip in a half gesture of thought. "A Rat came, and spoke with me. In my language. In Cantonese." She blinks a few times, considering how odd that is now. But should it be odd? No more odd that being in the Umbra, or speaking with spirits there.

Leonard gives the barest of smiles, and nods.

Yi shrugs lightly, considering what the rodent had said to her. "I am a child of Rat. There is strength in numbers. And whatever the Wendigo says, bring food anyway." She nods, and offers a small smirk at the galliard. "I do not understand what the first vision was though. But Rat thought it meant trouble was brewing. But, I don't know what kind of trouble, or where..." She glances down at her wrists, the scars matching the ones on her ankles in a somewhat complimentary set.

Leonard glances at the scars, following her eyes, and nods, stifling a bark of laughter at Rat's suggestion when it comes to Wendigo wisdom. "You should probably talk to Sepdet about it. She's a theurge; they have more experience with visions."

Yi nods again in agreement. "They have a skill for interpreting those kinds of things," she says softly before lifting her eyes to the galliard. "So... in conclusion, I think that your kin shouldn't have too much trouble just sitting in the cave like that." The Gnawer tilts her head off to a side slightly. "But, I think she should at least have a piece of dried meat handy to chew on. And maybe a radio or something. Silence can be awfully boring." The newmoon smiles faintly. "And mountain goats are funny looking, up close."

Leonard nods at your first point, looking a bit relieved, arches an eyebrow at your second, then outright snorts at your third. At the goat comment he just looks at you funny and suggests you lie down.

Yi takes up the galliard's suggestion, and chuckles as she leans back down against the grass. "I think I'll try to get some real sleep, now."