9/9/2004

06:51 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

Small Creek
A small creek, no more than a mere trickle, winds through the forest. Small pebbles shine wetly as the water flows past them. The creek has worn a slight indentation into the forest floor and tree roots can be seen poking out of the soil near the creek. Moss grows on the banks of the creek, and the occasional mushroom can be seen sticking out from the soil near the roots of a tree. Scurrying sounds can be heard through the underbrush, probably from field mice or other small woodland critters.
The forest looms over the creek on all sides, looking mysterious and foreboding.
Contents:
No-Fear
Obvious exits:
Forest

Sitting by the side of the creek, Kenneth seems to be doing nothing but idly sitting about. The philodox tosses in a pebble retrieved from the dirt beside him, watching it sink like some form of Zen practice. He hasn't been to the farm since the morning.

Oddly, any searching of the barn or kitchen would have come up empty for signs of Lucas, despite the fact he still remains at the farm. Reason's for the unusual dissapearance could soon be pointed to the periodic collision with his scent trail along the fringes of the bawn, and now, approaching the creek on the wind. There's a low chuff from further down the stream, as the oversized hispo wolf comes meandering down its track.

Kenneth hasn't actually been down this way until now, and looks like he might have just settled in. At least, until the hispo sounds his appearance. "Lucas, you idiot. I've been looking for you all day." The philodox doesn't even look up from his stream-gazing, though he seems to be aware of the other's presence now.

No-Fear snorts at the halfmoon with a twisting back of his ears. ~Why, something important happen, that I'm an idiot to have missed?~ The cub grunts out in the garou tongue as he approaches his tribemate, big paws carrying him within a few feet where he stops.

"No, I just happened to need a bit of entertainment, and thought you might provide some for me," Kenneth replies blithely, turning his gaze from the trickling waters finally. "Where've you been?"

No-Fear decides to yawn before he answers, tongue curling high in his jaws before the whole pointy mess snaps shut. ~Out here, wandering. I don't like being at the farm.~

Kenneth digs out another small clump of dirt and tosses it into the water. "I've decided on what I should do after Riting." The halfmoon gazes straight forward, towards the woods.

No-Fear folds his haunches under him and sits, twisting his head slightly to the side. ~What did you decide?~

Kenneth takes his eyes off the woods and settles them on the huge dire wolf. "I'm gonna go back." The halfmoon looks dead serious. "I'm going to go back home."

No-Fear wrinkles his nose. ~Go home? Why?~ The ahroun looks, pretty much, unhappy about the statement.

"To find out what happened," Kenneth continues, eyes wandering again. "I know, the police reports said it was an accident. My father, he smoked a lot." Hands that were relaxed suddenly tense, fists balling up. "But that was back when, when I didn't /know/ that I was Garou." His eyes, dark already, seem to cloud over invisibly. "But knowing that one of my parents had to have been a Garou or kinfolk, or something... That dumps a whole new sack of shit on me. And it's something I need to find out."

~Then you are fortunate.~ Replies No-Fear with a faint bristle of his fur. ~At least you have the chance to find out.~ Flattening back his ears, the Ahroun gets up, takes two steps, then jumps over the creek to the other side.

"I want you to come with me!" Kenneth calls out after the hispo has already leapt to the other side. His eyes follow the large ahroun, head turning accordingly. The straight drawn line of his lips parts as he makes to stand up.

No-Fear is obviously still annoyed by the whole thing in general, but then, that was probably to be expected. Both his temper and his bad reaction. ~Why?~ He asks from the other side, turning his head back over his shoulder to settle those sharp blue eyes on the other cub.

Kenneth, for not the first time, is at a loss for words. He doesn't meet the ahroun's eyes, looking down instead at the creek beneath him. "I don't know," he says after a long wordless, frustrating moment.

No-Fear keeps on staring, like he were searching the other for some sign or clue. ~And the pack?~

Kenneth continues to leave his eyes averted, a crease down the middle of his brow growing. "If Dillen wants to come, that's fine too." Then he does finally look up, meeting the blue eyes of the wolf. "I don't know how long it would take. I don't even know if I'd make it back there. I mean, I don't have a timetable laid out or anything. It's not like I bought airline tickets already." He lays a hand on the back of his neck. "God. It can be after the pack forms or before... I just know that I want to go back. I need to find out who they really were."

No-Fear slowly sits himself back down, the stream trickling quietly between them. The big wolf is silent for a very long time, never once looking away. ~It will be dangerous, many will still be looking for you. There is no guarantee you can even find answers.~ Again, a moment of quiet, before the Ahroun grunts decisivly. ~You are not going alone.~

It's the ahroun's reply that makes Kenneth actually smile. This time, not out of spite, or sarcastic smirking. This time, it is a genuine expression of grateful appreciation. "Thanks... Just hearin' someone say that. It's... reassuring." The halfmoon clears his throat then, hand lifted to cover his mouth. "So... you going to be out, all day?"

No-Fear finally does turn his eyes, upwards towards the sky. ~Day's almost over. No, I suppose I've been out long enough.~ The Ahroun heads back over to the other side of the creek, this time just wading through it - not that it's deep.

Kenneth stands there waiting for the full moon on the other side, trying to regain the formal, stoic composure he had before. "Yeah, it's about dinner time, I think," he says quietly more to himself than to the other cub. "What'd you do out here anyway? I mean, I had an excuse at least."

No-Fear hunches uo his big shoulders as he pauses on the other side. ~Walked. I told you, I don't like being at the farm. I spent enough time there.~ He stretches himself out and yawns again. ~I was suprised, the other day. Storm-Singer came out here, much as he hates the farm.~

"He did? And I missed him? Damn... when?" Kenneth furrows his brow, seeming disappointed at missing the galliard elder's presence. "What'd you two do?"

~While I was eating dinner.~ Fears-No-Darkness replies. ~I did not even notice he came in. We talked, then the other lost cub, the one who has white skin, came in. We all spoke, then while I and the other cub spoke, he dissapeared. He does that often.~

Kenneth tilts his head. "White skin?" He must have missed the memo. "Who's that?" He also nods to the recap of the elder's actions. Typical Shadow Lord, as always. "Damn. Either I sleep too much, or I don't socialize. What other lost cub're you talkin' about?"

No-Fear stamps his paw on the ground, a gesture of frustration. ~I don't know her cub name, or if she has one. She is new, found by Singers-to-Spirits. She is albino, I think, but not Metis. Homid, a Galliard.~

Kenneth taps a finger lightly on his lip. "Albino hunh? Not a metis... Nope, don't think I've seen her yet. Then again, it's like a youth hostel over there. Don't know who's gonna show up and who's gonna leave." The philodox shrugs once. "She cool?"

There's a faint snort from the Hispo. ~She is... shy, for a Galliard, but not unlike me. At least in opinion. She has the same trouble I did, that no tribes seem very interested, or anyone wants to help train her.~

Nodding twice, Kenneth gazes off, looking at the growing dimness of the sky. "Maybe we should invite her to the tribe. See if /she's/ interested."

No-Fear tilts his ears backwards and furrows his brow. ~No. Storm-Singer listened to her and watched her. He does not want her in the tribe. I am not sure why, but he is Elder.~

Kenneth looks back to the ahroun, an eyebrow arching with some surprise. "He actually said that? Wonder why." Smoothing out one of the sleeves of his shirt, he ponders the possibilities. "Maybe 'cause she's albino. Think in science class it's been said albino things don't last very long... in the wild."

~He did not say it to her, but to me.~ The fullmoon cub licks his jaws and furrows his black brows in thought. ~No. I think it is something else, something he can see that we cannot.~

Kenneth narrows an eye. "Doubt it. Alpha's got the right to choose though... who he wants in the pack, and who stays out." Resigned, the halfmoon shrugs once. "What'd he say about her? Just a 'Don't invite her to this members-only club'?"

No-Fear clicks his teeth together. ~Not in a million years.~ He quotes the elder Lord, ~So, he must have found something he really did not like.~

Kenneth finds something amusing about the way the ahroun quotes the elder, and smirks. "I'll have to see her to believe it," he says, not bothering to hide the fact that the elder's words would bias his judgement. "Suppose if we're supposed to be 'best of the best' then no flaws are accepted." The youth shrugs again. "I'm gonna make tracks back towards the farm. You staying?"

No-Fear gives a half-bark half-chuff and looks terribly amused when the halfmoon says 'best of the best', but he doesn't comment. ~No, I will go back. I can get food easier there.~ This said, the cub rears up on his hindlegs and makes the quick transition round the circle to the form of his breed.

Kenneth watches the ahroun shift, straightening out his clothing as well with a few pats of dirt and stray matter off his pants. "I swear, drycleaning will be a cause of frenzy someday..." he mutters, before starting off first, seeming like he knows where he's going.

Lucas does roll his eyes this time, now that he can. "Then buy normal clothes." He comments to the other young Lord as he strolls along beside him. "Ones that say 'machine washable'."

"Pssh. Look at what Jarred's got. He's got the bucks, the clothes... maybe he's even got ladies out there which is why he's out all the time. Why should I have to sacrifice style an' comfort for Gaia?" Kenneth asks, his question meant to be rhetorical, but the halfmoon does leave space for the ahroun to answer.
"because soap powder is safer for the enviroment." Remarks Lucas in a statement he's not even sure is true, but hops off his tongue anyway. "And when /you're/ Elder, then you can sulk in an expensive flat and grumble about your drycleaning bill."

Kenneth laughs aloud, a hand sweeping a few strands of hair from in front of his eyes. "Hell yeah I will. Gonna have parties and everything. There ain't no way I'm losin' out to Xia when it comes to making bucks."

Lucas scoffs and gives the halfmoon a light shove to the shoulder, "Oh really? An' who says I'm backing down to you, huh? I'd be following you to my grave." He adds in a playful jest, grinning widely.

Kenneth glances back to the ahroun, his expression sharply contrasted from the laid-back laugh that he'd just let loose a couple seconds ago. "Not to say you won't be the Elder of the tribe in time. But I won't lose to you either."

Lucas is still grinning, "Yeah, well, first we'd have to lose to Cutter. And before that, we'd have to at least match 'em in rank, which'd mean we actually survived our Rite and spent a lot of time and effort to get the rank."

Kenneth sidesteps a downed branch, continuing his walking. "And what would you do if no one accepts here what you've done, just 'cause you're a Shadow Lord?"

"Well that's the trick, ain't it?" Lucas says as he continues to stroll along. "Which is why you need to make sure you can prove what you did. Unless, you decided to hell with it and went to a Shadow Lord sept, which would make this entire conversation null and void because someone there is /bound/ to be higher than you unless you wait until you're the fifth rank to even try, and man, if you get that far, sure. I'll listen to ya."

Kenneth nods once, hand tapping once on a tree as they pass by. "I actually think it'd be harder to get rank at an all Shadow Lord sept... if there are such things nowadays. Kinda makes you wonder, who's at the very top of the list, y'know? I mean... who's got A-list celeb status in the Garou Nation?"

Lucas shrugs his shoulders, "Got me. See, this is why I think they need to send out flyers and papers. The Garou-Times. Keep everyone up on news, events, top dogs. They can leave out the obituaries, tho'... that'd take up the whole paper."

"That's what Galliards are for," Kenneth replies with an upraised finger. "Besides... that'd be Veil Breach city, and a walking 'HERE WE ARE! ATTACK US!' bulletin to all enemies we have."

Lucas snorts. "Like we're experts on Veil Breaching." Mutters he with a quirked brow. "Well, next Galliard we see, let's ask them."

"Except that one cub who couldn't be a Shadow Lord in 'a million years'," Kenneth adds in with a smirk, still amused by the elder's quoted reaction. "Dillen's a galliard isn't he? We can ask him."

Lucas shakes his head and chuckles, "Sure, next we see him. I still can't figure out why Jarred said that... funny, tho', to hear him say it in my head. She was standing there at the time, so I'm the one who had to keep a straight face."

Kenneth glances back to the ahroun. "So, he /did/ say it to her. Kind of. In front of her, I mean." The halfmoon's expression tells of his curiosity to her response.

"No, no." Lucas says while shaking his head. "She was talking to me while he was listening, then he looked at me and did that 'talking in my mind'. She had been going on about the tribes not wanting her, then asked about us, and that's when Jarred said in my brain 'not in a million years'."

Kenneth puts a fist up to his lips, holding down the laugh threatening to burst out and disturb the night's relative silence. "Hey, well, he's probably got his reasons. I ain't gonna argue with him 'til I see this girl."

The Ahroun gives a quiet chuckle, "I dunno, but, she doesn't seem like she got a great deal of... ambition. Just sorta plodded around the kitchen, grumbling, not seeming to care all to much who she ends up with."

"Doesn't sound all too different from me, least at the beginning," Kenneth murmurs in thought. True, the first weeks he'd sulked, or just gotten angry and then sulked. The halfmoon seems to get irritated just by thinking about those past days. "Who picked her up?"

"Trevor." Lucas answers, "He's the one who's been teaching her. She seems rather resolved she'll just end up with the Fianna and that's that. Doesn't sound too thrilled about it."

Kenneth and Lucas are walking back towards the farmhouse from the creekside, though taking their sweet time doing it. Their relatively low conversation tones don't carry too far, but what can one expect from Shadow Lords? "Doesn't seem like that one's a rite-passer, eh?" the halfmoon says with a pseudo-nod. "Probably just lackin' the motivation. I think if she finds out she'd get culled, she might step it up."

"Probably." Lucas says in reply, his hands shoved into his pockets as he walks shoulder to shoulder. "But, well, ain't our problem. Seems a trend around here of having useless cubs sulking around and causing problems."

Kenneth stops in his walk. "Hey, I'm not fuckin' useless," he says with a slight growl to his tone, seemingly stung by the ahroun's remark.

Lucas pauses and slowly raises a brow as he looks to the halfmoon, his expressions weary. "Untwist your panties, will you? I wasn't talking about you."

Dark-As-Night comes out of the dense underbrush, tail up and wagging, ears forward. He greets the two Shadow Lords, noting that he hasn't scented either one of them in quite a while. His perceptive wolf ears picked up on their gossip earlier, but he doesn't care to ask who they were talking about. No one is useless. Gaia has a purpose for all, he comments, tongue lolling as he begins to trot alongside the other cubs.

A voice comes from in the trees, "Everyone except them." The smart-ass tone comes as the click of a lighter announces Dillen stepping from the trees.

Kenneth releases the tension of his balled up fist, accompanied with a closure of his eyes and a huff outwards into the night. Speaking of, the halfmoon opens his eyes back up and glances towards the Coggie when the wolf's fur catches sparse moonlight, followed with his eyes moving to look towards the lighter's sound and Get's voice. "Whatev'," he grumbles. "Nice to see you too, ladies."

Lucas looks first to the other Ahroun then to the Galliard and scoffs quietly. "Hey, just 'cause my Alpha-bits don't talk to me doesn't mean I don't have a job to do."

Dark-As-Night snorts quietly, and folds his ears back. We are all so fun and happy tonight. The black wolf's eyes dart to Dillen at the sound of the lighter. He doesn't comment though, instead asking a question. Have any of you seen Garou from the city hunting here on the Bawn? I was told it has become a problem. If you see anyone doing this, tell them to stop it.

Dillen gives a good natured laugh. "True." The Zippo clacks together again as he looks to the lupus. "S'up?" He states softly. "Do I know you?" The Get raises a brow. "I come out and go around in lupus. Practice and all. But I don't hunt more than just tracking."

Kenneth looks back down at the black wolf, squinting slightly due to the night time darkness. "Haven't seen anyone. More like, who specifically are you talkin' about?" The halfmoon gives a quick glance to his tribesmate. "Seen anyone hunting, Lucas?"

Lucas shrugs his shoulders. "Got me, Aug'. The only stuff I catch is in the fridge already. Why, what's goin' on?"

Dark-As-Night stops and turns to Dillen, shifting up into his birth form. "Yeah, we've met. It's Auggie," he mutters to the new Cliath. Then, turning to Kenneth and Lucas, he shrugs. "I dunno who exactly, the only thing I could get out of White Bear was that it was Bone Gnawers and 'others,' whoever that means." He frowns deeply. "Anyways, yeah... I haven't seen anyone either, just askin' around. Makin' sure it wasn't you guys."

Dillen lets out what could be considered a chuff in human terms, a short burst of air. "Josh is usually in his own little world." The Get shakes his head. "But I will still keep a look out. I'm out and around here a lot."

Kenneth on the other hand, is a bit suspicious. "So... why is hunting out here bad again?" he asks, wanting specifics but being vague to get to it. "What sort of hunting are we talkin' about here?"

"He does tend to be a bit full of hot air." Lucas comments then hitches up his shoulders. "He mean's prey, right?"

Auggie nods in agreement with Dillen. "He sure is," he agrees with the Lucas and Dillen's opinion of the odd Glass Walker, his words clipped. "But, I don't think he makes shit up, either. Yeah, just prey. S'bad because, well, there's only enough prey to support the normal animals out here, let alone however-many woodsy Garou. You add more than that to the mix, and then the whole ecosystem just falls to shit." He spits into the creek, the loogie flying in a long and graceful arc.

Dillen shakes his head. "Like I said, be glad to keep an eye out." As his eyes slightly sweep the area. "Was just out for a walk tonight."

Kenneth shrugs a shoulder, eyes turning when Auggie spits into the creek. "Well, not like this area's 'normal' in the first place. Spiritual places of power and all." The philocub turns to press on towards the farmhouse. "You other two staying out here for the night?"

Lucas scratches at the back of his neck as he listens in, but doesn't say anything at the moment.

Auggie sniffs. "Well, this place isn't normal, but the rules of nature still apply." He tucks some errant locks of hair, which are pretty well matted into dreds by now, behind his ears. "Nah, I've been sleeping at the farmhouse lately, helpin' to keep an eye on a new cub my tribe's got."

Dillen shrugs and shakes his head. "Nah. Just out for a walk and then back to the brownstone." He lifts a hand into the air, "Which it is about time to make my way back. Keep in touch you guys." He points a finger at Lucas and Kenneth.

Kenneth pauses in his walking, turning. The halfmoon tilts his chin up once at Dillen, a gesture one might interpret as a submissive one, but it doesn't seem all that groveling. "What cub's that?" he asks Auggie.

Lucas mutters a goodbye to Dillen as he goes before his attentions go back to Auggie, faintly lifting a brow as he waits for an answer.

Auggie pauses as Dillen announces his departure, and raises a hand to the Get. The finger-pointing, and Kenneth's submissive gesture, causes him to raise an eyebrow. "Her name's Stacey. She's real young, only about 12 or so, but bright. She's had a few fuck-ups... but only one major one so far." He looks between the other two cubs, and his tone takes on an air of protectiveness. "So, if you see her around, be nice, okay? She's still new."

"Sure will," Kenneth replies with a shadowed smile like a conditioned response. Even if his being a Shadow Lord would shoot red flags and flares all over the place, the reply feels genuine enough. That said, he gives Lucas a small, meaningful passing glance.

Lucas holds up his hands, palms out. "I only knock around cubs who are irrevocably stupid - like Todd. Right now, I don't plan on beating anyone, just eating, and I'm overdue." This said, he aims his path for the farmhouse.

Auggie isn't sure what to make of Kenneth's seemingly-geniune tone, and shady smile and cryptic look at the other Shadow Lord. He gives the Philodox a hard stare. "Good. All right then. Nice seein' you fellas." He turns and heads for the farmhouse as well, keeping a few trees between himself and the other cubs in the path that he takes.

Kenneth nods once to his fellow cub (albeit Auggie being more senior in experience), turning once more to follow along and catch up with Lucas. The rest of the conversation on the way back seems to be much more subdued and about trivial things, but more or less focused on the idea of what to eat back at the farm.