3/29/2005

06:33 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

Bawn: Western Forest(#3018RA)
Tall Sitka spruce and sequoia crowd around and above you. Many of the trees are old, their branches twisted into impossible shapes, trunks broad and draped with lichen, mosses and creepers. Tendrils of moss hand down from them like green spiderwebs, snaring the unwary with cold, ghostly fingers. The patches of younger growth are dense and pale, needles tinged with silver. Matted undergrowth huddles sullenly in the occasional small clearings, clutching with thorns and burrs at the legs of those who would pass. Deer seldom venture here, but the forest is full of rustlings, and tiny glints from wary, watchful eyes.
The forest spreads out to the east, bounded on the west by Sunrise Road. From farther to the west, one can occasionally hear the distant sounds of the town of Kent's Crossing.
Contents:
Stacey
Obvious exits:
Highway 22  Overgrown Path  Sunrise Road  Farmhouse  Caern of the Hidden Walk  Creek  Central Bawn  Southern Bawn  Northern Bawn  

Kenneth steps through the woods with no disguise of his passing, head swiveling back and forth like a radar. The Shadow Lord seems to be intent on looking for something on the ground, keeping his eyes directed downward rather then its normal straightforward path.

Stacey is sitting cross-legged on one of the larger boulders within the forest, her hands resting on her knees. The girl looks about rather disinterestedly, seeming to either be waiting for something or to simply be taking a rest. In her right hand she holds a pebble which she idly tosses up and down. On one side of the pebble, for any who happen to get close enough to see, has been painted a wolf's head, and on the other side is a wolf's paw.

Kenneth doesn't exactly see Stacey, but then he's busy looking for other things. A hand slides through his damp, tangled hair, and the philodox pauses briefly to mutter something to himself. It's then that he does take a break from his hunt for the unknown, catching sight of Stacey in her idleness. The Shadow Lord moves closer, and lifts his voice. "Hey Stace."

Stacey catches the pebble and shifts her gaze over to Kenneth, smiling. "Hey, Kenneth. Whatcha up to?" She unravels and slides off of the rock onto her feet. "Sure is annoying, all this rain. Wished it'd either just really rain hard and get it over with or just stop."

Looking up skyward, Kenneth grunts quietly. "Yeah, well, it's spring. Spring showers, May flowers, all that sunshine and lollipops." For all the optimism, Kenneth hangs up a rather grey rainbow in his sky. Then he turns to Stacey. "Was lookin' for something of mine. Lost it awhile back..." he trails, trying not to get tense.

Stacey grins. "Well, I like the May flowers, that's for sure. Oh, is it pretty here? I've never seen St. Claire in the spring." She loses a bit of her grin and tilts her head. "What'd you lose? Maybe I can help you find it. Or keep an eye out for it."
In the distance, a small mottle-colored wolf is inching her way closer to the sound of voices. The red-browns are a definite contrast to the yet grey hues of the sleeping forest, not yet revived into springtime color. Her steps are cautious and quiet, though she is not attempting to sneak up on the pair. She also keeps her distance; standing about thirty yards from them.

"Uhm," Kenneth notes as his immediate answer, reluctant at first to reveal. Then with a small shrug, he mutters, "Back awhile ago, this one Garou ragabash named Flash stole my headphones. Back at the farm. Lucas an' I chased him a good ways, but the bastard got away and hid 'em somewhere. It's probably a stupid idea to look for 'em now though, so just... forget about it." The halfmoon waves a hand dismissively, before backtracking. "Yeah, St. Claire's decent in the spring I guess. SCCU's campus looks better when it's green."

Stacey raises her brows. "Oh, I've heard of Flash! He was the Stargazer that was mean to cubs. Auggie said I wasn't allowed to learn from him." She shrugs. "Well, if I happen upon the headphones, I'll return them to ya." The girl doesn't appear to have noticed Joey's approach yet, although she does pause to take a quick glance around. "I look forward to it, then. Back home, there was this place called Lompoc, and they had fields and fields of nothing but flowers. My mom took me there once."

Kenneth snorts, but it seems his annoyance isn't directed at Stacey at all. Only a passing memory, as he combs his hair again. "Yeah, North Carolina's also pretty nice in the spring, I guess. Never really noticed, bein' on the court all the time for awhile." Standing not far from the Child ahroun, Kenneth shelters beneath a tree from the light rain, even though from his dampened state he appears to have been outside for quite a while.

Snaps-Leashes continues to slowly work her way closer, ears swivelled forward like furry satellite dishes. Her tail bobs along behind her, definitely not flagged, but not tucked either. Her nose quivers at the scents ahead of her and onward she goes.

Stacey tilts her head. "Is it? So, it that where you came from then? And you played basketball or something? I was a gymnast!" she declares with a grin, then she takes another look around with narrowed eyes, and finally the girl spots the red-brown wolf. "Hey, Joey!"

Dillen comes into the area that the people have gathered in. "S'up?" he says, giving a nod to the others that are assembled. "How's it going?" Hands shoved into his pockets and continuing into the group.

".. I played tennis," Kenneth clarifies to the Child ahroun, before he looks up sharply as Joey's name is called out. The halfmoon is looking for a girl though, not a wolf, and it takes him awhile before he picks up on what Stacey saw. The Gnawer is looked at neutrally, though not greeted immediately. The arrival of Dillen is only a touch better - a tilt of the Shadow Lord's head greets him.

Once the whole conglomeration of Garou becomes apparent, the Gnawer tenses and halts. There is definite trepidation in her posture, her ears flattening and her tail lowering to rest at the back end of her haunches. Her eyes follow the group, and her head cants to the side with nervous energy- she does not, however, approach them now.

Stacey turns a bit as Dillen arrives. "Hey. Not too much, just talkin'." Then she turns to grin at Kenneth. "Really? I've never played tennis before. Still play? Did ya like it?" As Snaps-Leashes fails to come closer, the girl frowns and glances her way, looking a bit confused. "So, Dillen, how have you been?"

Dillen nods his head. "Good. Getting along. Thanks again for your help. Been going back and doing patrols and such of the territory." He puffs himself up some. "The pack may be losing people, but I still have a duty."

Kenneth tightens his jawline when the pack is mentioned. "Two /don't/ make a pack," he insists with a growl, before looking back towards Joey. "You gonna just cringe there or are you gonna join us like normal people havin' a conversation?"

Well that certainly doesn't ease the Gnawers concerns. A soft whimper is stifled from the wolf as she takes a few steps closer. A last minute decision sends her berth wide and towards Staceys side, head bowed and eyes gazing up from under her wolven lashes.

Stacey lets out a soft sigh at Kenneth's tone, but doesn't interject about the pack stuff. Not her business. She does frown a bit as he addresses Snaps-Leashes, and reaches out to set a hand on the wolf, standing beside her with an obviously protective stance. "I was happy to help, Dillen."

Dillen takes a deep breath and rubs at the back of his neck. "Two may not make a pack, but I am not about to give up on it. I'm still doing what I promised Fenris I would do." He shrugs and looks to Joey. "C'mon. We don't bite, much." He gives Joey an endearing smile.

Kenneth isn't exactly annoyed at any particular person in his vicinity, but his ease has since tightened. "Don't need a promise to Fenris to kick a bastard's ass," he mutters, shoving a hand into his pocket. Once Snaps comes closer, he looks to her again with slightly narrowed eyes that slide up to Stacey. "Anyway... you gettin' bored out here yet Stace?"

Snaps-Leashes finds some reassurance in the touch from the Gaian, her body shuffling around the other until she leans heavily upon one of Stacey's legs. Her eyes and ears prick towards Dillen as he greets her, a little swish of her tail noticable by those perceptive and looking vaguely downward. There is still a heavy tone of restlessness about the wolf though, unable to be hidden or restrained.

Stacey smiles down at Snaps-Leashes as the wolf leans against her leg, and then looks up at Kenneth. "Nah," she says with a grin, shaking her head. "I might be, but I've been running into more people out here since agreeing to do this than I ever had before. And I've been keeping busy. Not much time to be bored when you're patrolling at least five hours out of the day, plus checking in at the Farmhouse each night."

Dillen nods his head towards Stacey and looks back to Kenneth. "True. I could kick your ass any day, but I made a promise to Fenris. I keep my promises." His tone is one of stern dignity.

Kenneth turns at Dillen's verbal jab, bristling now. "Bullshit you can kick my ass. You just get lucky every now and then," he snorts at the Get, hands balling up. "If you wanna promise, I'll promise to kick your ass some time."

Snaps-Leashes snorts at the rising tension, her tail dropping and finding its place between her legs again. Her cold nose bumps against the Ahroun as she stands behind her, soft whimpers coming up in complaint of the sudden stress.

Stacey frowns as she watches the other two, not looking pleased with where this seems headed. As Snaps-Leashes bumps her nose against her, she looks down, giving the wolf a half-smile of encouragement. "Yeah, well," she says, looking back up, "if you two are just about done bragging about your macho-ness, I have a question."

Dillen thumbs at his nose a little bit. "Get lucky? If that is the way you want to look at it, go right ahead. Whenever you are ready, then do it." His hands held open wide, offering himself. Then to Stacey, "What is your question?"

Kenneth is just on the edge of doing just that, fist tightening at his side as his eyes narrow their dagger-like look at the Get. The Shadow Lord drops silent, keeping his tongue held at least for a while longer.

Snaps-Leashes just remains still and quiet behind the Ahroun, her posture in a near crouch as if the forest floor were a security blanket for her.

Stacey has to do some quick thinking in a very short time. Clearing her throat slightly, she says, "Well, I was wondering if you would rather have chicken or ham tonight? I was thinking about heading back to the Farmhouse for dinner and wanted to know if any of you wanted to join me."

Dillen cannot help but stop as Stacey says what she does. He snarfles. That's the only word to describe the noise he makes. "Ham." He then says, only missing a small beat as he looks to Kenneth. "You like ham?" Trying as well to help out with the tension, been enough between the two anyway. "Put down our fists and be like civilized killers?"

Kenneth is still sore at the Get, eyes snapping to him with a teeth-exposing curl of the side of his lip. He doesn't answer him, only looking off to the darkening woods for a type. "Real funny, Stacey," he grunts after a time. "And I'm not hungry." Just as he says it, though, the halfmoon's stomach reveals the truth with a low gurgle. His eyes shift down, glaring at it as if it had betrayed him.

At the question of food, the Gnawers tail starts swishing back and forth. Her eyes drift up to glance at the Gaian, ears perked up happily. A soft, airy whuff is offered excitedly to the other, and with just a moment of concentration- she steps back and shifts her way to homid. "Ham. Definitely ham, that's a real treat."

Stacey attempts to give Kenneth an innocent look, and then looks over at Dillen and Joey, nodding. "All right, ham it is, then." As Kenneth's stomach growls, she glances back over at him, raising her brow. "Well, I'll go get the ham ready. Anyone interested can meet me at the Farmhouse in a bit."

Joey still hovers near the Gaian, even though she stands in homid now. "I'll help ya Stacey. I promise I won't burn nothing." She glances briefly to Kenneth, and then to Dillen. The latter getting the more relaxed of gazes, though still tense.

Dillen looks to Kenneth. "SO are you gonna eat or not?" As he is already walking towards the farmhouse.

Kenneth is still glaring down at his gut for blowing his 'cover'. At the Get's question though, he looks back up, and with as much composure as he can muster simply declares, "Whatev'. We goin' before dinner time passes or not?"

Stacey grins then and turns to start heading to the Farmhouse as well. "Sure," she says to Joey as she passes her. "I don't mind help."

[I feel like Chicken tonight, chicken tonight! Bah. Ham it is.]

Farmhouse: Kitchen and Dining Room
Homey is the first word to come to mind when looking at the farmhouse's kitchen. Dark, wood-paneled wainscoting covers the walls to about waist height, dark beige wallpaper continuing to the ceiling. Twin refrigerators occupy the north wall, facing the large six-burner stove on the south. The kitchen counter runs the length of the eastern wall, broken only by the double-basin sink. Cabinets run above and below the counter and a twin-pane window is set in the wall above the sink. A small pantry is set into an alcove alongside the refrigerators, presumably holding the deep freezer as well as shelves of dry goods.
Some twelve feet above the floor, a large chandelier hangs from the ceiling, lighting the dining room and casting long shadows over the bar to the kitchen. A long table occupies the center of the dining room, three chairs setting along each side, and one on each end. On the west wall, a large window looks out on the trees alongside the western pasture. Set into the north wall is a large cabinet, its glass doors closed on shelves containing a full compliment of fine china and glassware as well as a few decorative nicknacks. On the east, a wide bar separates the dining room from the kitchen.
An opening in the southern wall allows passage to the front entryway of the house, while a sliding glass door in the kitchen opens to a clearing behind the house.
(Non-Garou, please "+view curse")
Contents:
Stacey
Obvious exits:
Hallway/Living Room  Back Door  

A delicious ham dinner has been had by all, and since then Joey and Dillen have both taken their leave. Stacey is now doing a bit of clean up in the kitchen, scrubbing off the plates, rinsing them, and then setting them aside to be dried.

Kenneth eats surprisingly slowly, even still chowing down as Joey and Dillen leave. It's when they're gone that he does finish up about 5 or so minutes after, and busses his own plate. The Shadow Lord stands, moving over to beside the ahroun and waiting. In the relative silence, he speaks up. "Where'd you learn t'cook like that?"

Stacey chuckles a bit, glancing up at him. "Well, when you're dad's an absent-minded writer and your mom is usually gone on some trip or emergency that never gets explained... you learn. Was it good, then?"

Kenneth hunhs quietly, that tension never truly gone, but lessened considerably. "You... cook pretty good," he notes with a look off elsewhere. Another pause goes by. "Gymnast hunh?"

Stacey nods, her smile widening, as she picks up a towel to start drying things. "Yep! My parents got me started in that pretty earlier, because I was a bit too active for them to handle all the time. Needed something to use up my energy! And then I took a real liking to it and just stuck with it, until we moved here, that is. I still practice it when I can."

Kenneth moves to grab the sponge and starts to wash his own dish, scrubbing away before he resumes his end of the conversation. "I used t'go to the courts some more. But then, Requiem formed up." The halfmoon stops, watching the water fall on the dish. The halfmoon's gaze narrows.

Stacey glances up at him, her smile fading. "Ah, I see. Well," and here her tone brightens a bit, "maybe you should go some more, if you'd be happier. Maybe you could teach me some!" She pauses for a moment before speaking again, in quieter tones. "You didn't seem very happy about that, when I first met you."

Kenneth resumes the dishwashing with added fervor and rinses off the plate. The tap squeaks closed, before he turns to her. "What do you mean, I didn't seem very happy about what?"

Stacey frowns a bit, pausing in her drying as she things back. "Hmmm, just the impression that conversation left on me, about the value of strength in battle and all that. Of course, I didn't know you really then, so I could have been misreading." She shrugs and then finishes drying the plate.

Kenneth reaches over for a second towel, drying his plate with a renewed vigor - perhaps too much vigor. The plate is set down, but the halfmoon remains hovering over it, staring at his reflection in it. "I don't put stock in power," he utters lowly. "Lucas an' Dillen both have one up on me when it comes to brute strength." The halfmoon narrows his eyes, and then closes them with a rattling, rough sigh of frustration. Turning back, he walks over the table and flops into a chair.

Stacey puts away the plates in silence before sitting down at the table as well. She sets her elbow on the table and leans her head on her palm, staring off towards the living room for a while. "Oh, hey," the girl says finally, breaking the silence in a change of subject, "I ever tell you that my mom was a veterinarian? She owned a clinic and everything."

Kenneth looks over, and an almost grateful glimmer flickers over the youth's normally cold gaze. "She as much a hippie as you are hunh? Yeah, I could see that." The glimmer flits away just as quickly, as he looks off towards the sliding doors and into the dark. "Mom was... well she went out with 'the club' a lot. The more I think 'bout it, the more she was probably a Garou. Always out, always... always so dominatin'. Dad didn't mind though. He worked while I was in school doin' some warehouse management stuff. Never really did pay attention to what they did." His gaze drops slowly. "Was just a snotnosed kid."

Stacey smiles, watching the Shadow Lord. "I'm pretty sure my mom was Garou, too. Someday I'll find out more, though, about my heritage. What happened to her." She lets out a sigh, frowning and tilting her head a bit to look out into the darkness as well, as if wondering if Kenneth's seeing anything out there. "My mom was a good person though, good at making things better. Yeah, maybe she was a 'hippie' like me. You'd probably think the same of my dad." She chuckles. "Sometimes, when she was in town, she let me help out at the clinic some, taught me first aid. I really miss her still."

Kenneth looks back, probably not really looking outside, but at some reflection in the glass. "What state're you from anyway? I never heard of a Lompoc anywhere."

Stacey glances over at him and smiles, folding her arms on the table in front of her. "California," she says, "The southern part, Orange County. Our house was in Laguna Nigel. Well, small apartment, really." She grins and then shrugs.

Kenneth hunhs again, nodding slightly. "Bet it's nice down there. California and all. Aside from the smog 'round LA, right?" He still has a moving gaze, not exactly settling anywhere. "But what were you doin' way up here then?"

Stacey nods. "Yeah, it's nice. I miss the weather. It's a lot colder up here." She sighs, staring down at the table. "I didn't want to come up here, but... after my mom disappeared and the funeral and all, my dad decided it'd be best to move. Start fresh and all. He found a job with a newspaper up here and... so here we are. Of course, I haven't seen my dad since the time I ran away as a cub."

Kenneth nods a touch. "Ever think of goin' back?" He shifts his gaze back to the ahroun. "Prolly not hunh?" He shifts about in his chair, trying to get comfortable. "Thought about goin' back to school. Back when I was a cub, I thought Rite of Passage was just y'know, like some standardized test. Pssh. God, what a stupid idea that was."

Stacey chuckles at that and then shrugs. "I don't know. I've thought about going back just to learn more about my mom, but what are the chances of finding anyone who knew here down there? There's a lot of people. As for going back to school, I don't really want to. Probably frenzy on the teachers for talking to me like an eleven-year-old." She grins at this thought. "Myself, I was afraid to go on my Rite of Passage. Dakota had told me stories of her Rite and Auggie's, so I figured it wouldn't be easy. And I knew I'd have to go by myself, unlike them. It was lonely."

Kenneth slows an exhale, thinking back a ways. "Yeah, probably. Or take out some punk jock's mouth and make believe it was Brom." The Shadow Lord smirks in rare expression of humor, malicious though it is. "When it comes down to it though... don't think any of the friends I had then're gonna talk to me now. Not if I couldn't tell 'em about alla this." Here, he leans back further into his chair, the smirk fading and replaced with a thin, grim line.

Stacey gives a half-smile at that bit of malicious humor. "Be tempted to do that as well. I'd probably be tempted to pick a fight or two with him, if I didn't know he'd beat me easily. Saw him fight Auggie." She shrugs and leans back. "I never really had any close friends, just buddies in gymnastics, but... yeah, none of them would really talk to me now either. Come to think of it, I'd probably just think them all silly anyways."

"You'd probably fit right back in anyway," Kenneth notes with his brows lifting slightly in mention of Brom versus Auggie. "Saw 'em fight? Do I get to know who won?"

Stacey raises a brow at him. "Fit right back in? You calling me silly or adaptable?" She grins at her small joke, and then wrinkles her nose. "It was a pretty close fight, but Brom ended up winning. It was in the barn. The usual: I'm tougher! Bet I could beat you! Then they fight and beat each other up. But it was a good fight. Of course, then Auggie said something to make me mad and I picked a fight with him and got beat up myself. I guess I'm not immune to all that either."

Kenneth shrugs a shoulder, chalking it up to, "You're an Ahroun. Fightin's your game." He puts a hand to chin, thinking for a time before he shakes his head, dispelling the thought. "I was callin' you both," he answers in retrospect. "One for bein' just about able to cut tension like the Coggie you are, and the other for findin' your niche so damn fast. Lookit you. You're Guardian an' all up in good graces with the Garou out here. Minus a few. Guess it's all part of your plan hunh? World Peace and all that."

Stacey laughs at that. "Oh, yes, just the first part of my 1,027 steps towards World Peace and stopping the Apocalypse." She chuckles again and then looks out towards the window. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope towards all that, though. I figure, as long as we're all living, there's some chance, however small, and I want to do what I can. This Guardian stuff will be a good start, and the pack, if I can get it going."

Kenneth tenses again, just at the word 'pack.' The halfmoon nods stiffly though, black eyes looking towards the kitchen sink. "Bet your pack would probably do better'n Requiem by leaps an' bounds," he mutters, hand slipping down from his chin and down to the table. "Don't know what Dillen's so hung up on with Fenris anyway. Get."

Stacey frowns and glances over at him at the mention of Requiem. "Well, I do have high hopes for it, but I have high hopes for most everything. I figure, I have ideas for it and possible totems and all, but the hard part will be finding the people." She shrugs then, looking down at the table. "Dillen... I think, maybe, he's trying to figure out where he stands now. Maybe."

Kenneth gazes at the ahroun from the corner of his eye, slipping into quiet at her last note. Then when the silence is broken, the Shadow Lord sniffs. "Neither of us want to think that the first pack we tried was a total screw up. But that's just the truth of it. Climbin' out of the hole, gettin' into the green. That's just what's left to do. Win some.... lose a lot." He curls his fingers in, wetting his lips. "We burned Lucas. And after his Gathering, that'll be it. Least, for me."