3/15/2006

06:15 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

Currently the moon is in the waning Full Moon phase (93% full).
It is currently 18:06 Pacific Time on Wed Mar 15 2006.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the west at 5 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 29.96 and steady, and the relative humidity is 82 percent. The dewpoint is 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius.)

Bawn: Northern Forest(#3012RA)
Dark and forboding woods stretch in all directions but the north, the trees close together as if they were soldiers closing ranks against the enemy of Man. The trees here are tall, and close off all light from above, like they were pillars in some vast cathedral to Nature. Songbirds flit between the branches and the snuffling of small animals comes from the brush if one listens close enough. The busy interstate highway to the north, though, drowns out most of the subtler sounds in that direction.
The northern edge of the bawn is marked here by the unavoidable length of Interstate 90. Near it, the sounds of traffic drown out the more natural sounds of water and wildlife. In all other directions, the traffic noise recedes into the background.
Contents:
Stacey
Dillen
Obvious exits:
Interstate 90  North  Lone Boulder  Western Bawn  Central Bawn  Eastern Bawn  

The fight was a long one. Kenneth was completely against going anywhere he didn't want to be - and that was certainly not the woods. Curses, swears, other vehement blasphemes in three different languages ended in a frenzy, but in the end the philodox was knocked out with a weight from one of Signe's home gym machines to the skull. By the time he's dragged out to the woods, the halfmoon is slowly working towards consciousness again.

Never try and tell Dillen to leave something alone when he feels it needs to be addressed. The Galliard hefts Kenneth up and onto his shoulder again, which should wake him up a little more as they trudge through the woods, looking about for Stacey. "Stacey!" Dillen yells out from time to time, trying to not howl if he can help it.

That seems to do the trick. After a while of yelling, the Child can be heard running towards them. Stacey blinks and stops short upon seeing Dillen and the carried form of Kenneth. "What the hell happened?"

Down to the very strands of his hair, some of which are bloody, the Shadow Lord groans weakly as he comes out of it. His first words are far from anything coherent.

The look on Dillen's face says a lot of it. Not pleased. "You told me he was having dreams. He's denying it." And with that, Kenneth is hefted and dropped down on the ground. "He's still in that 'Nobody likes me' phase that he has got to get the fuck over." And with Dillen's posture, Kenneth ain't going anywhere.

Eyebrows arch at Dillen's words, and she glances down at Kenneth with some concern as he's dropped. "What'd you do? Hit him with a steel bat?" She shifts her weight from one leg to another and then sits down cross-legged. "Kenneth?"

Headaches are far from the only thing Kenneth is going to be complaining about after this one as he is unceremoniously dumped on the dirt. A grimace and a wince later, his eyes open with no small amount of hostility and delirious glaring around. In response, he utters out a single syllable. "Urg."

"Good boy." Dillen says and looks to Stacey. "Now that you are awake again. Care to talk about these dreams? Or do I have to care about you enough to rip your head open and see for myself?"

"Forget about the dreams for now?" Stacey says cautiously. "Dreams... aren't answers in themselves. I think there are deeper issues. Like the 'phase' you say he's in. Which is completely understandable, considering all that has happened. He keeps asking why we care." The Child seems rather calm, but there's a good amount of tension in her voice and posture.

Energy and pain at a low ebb, the Shadow Lord closes an eye as he lifts a hand to feel the back of his head. The bleeding stopped, but there's definitely still a bruise that he touches gingerly. Though at first he looks like he hasn't heard the questioning, he responds with a growl of a reply. "Go away."

"You want us to go away? Why? Give me a good reason." Dillen moves to flop down on the ground, peering at Kenneth. "Why are you like this, man?"

Not looking pleased at all, Stacey crosses her arms stubbornly. "No! Screw the rest of them right now, this is about us. Have we not been there for you? Have we proven untrustworthy? Something wrong with our judgment? I mean, tell me. I really want to know. Why the hell do you keep questioning me... us... like this?"

"So you'd get off my back," Kenneth slurs back, taking stock of the remaining injuries. "So you're not..." he pants out slowly, wincing as the pain in his head returns, "hurt."

That causes the Galliard to look a little surprised. "Kenneth. We are your friends whether you want us to be or not. All part and parcel of the gig. You and I are pack. I would die for you, man. Completely."

Stacey says "You.." Stacey starts to break in, prepared for a fight, then stops, her rage hitting a wall as his words register. "I'm not in your pack, but I'd do everything in my power to help you. You know that. Maybe... Maybe if you leaned on us a bit, instead of running... Together, we could fix things. Three are stronger than one.""

"Even so," Kenneth starts to say, pushing himself up to his feet, "you won't be there all the time. You can't. So I'd rather.. not be disappointed." Wetting his lips, he steadies himself on a tree, looking around to get his bearings.

Dillen takes in a deep breath. "It is part of our lives, Kenneth. But I will tell you this, I savor every moment of my life as if it was my last. Kenneth, you are my pack. My brother. You gotta rest on your friends, man." Dillen runs a hand through his hair, looking to the Lord.

"Disappointed? Have you been happy with how things are going now?" Stacey asks, a bit of sarcasm creeping into her voice. "Keep running, you think it'll get better? You /have/ our friendship and all the help we can give. It's not an offer, it's /there/. Just... work with us, eh?"

"Hey, I didn't ask you for it," Kenneth snaps back roughly, reacting to the sarcasm catalysing with his residual rage. "I got along just fine before."

"Every time I see you, you are alone. That's not good. We are not lone animals. We need the pack around us. What happens when something comes out and comes after you? Huh? Be nice to have your posse there!" Dillen regains a grin at the analogy. "Come on out. Party some. You might have a good time, yeah?"

Hugging herself for warmth, Stacey snaps back, "Like hell you did!"

"Don't start with me," Kenneth growls, rounding on the ahroun and glaring at her, glaring at Dillen, just angry in general. The moon ratchets up the tension even more. "Nothing is coming after me without my knowing it," he adds to Dillen. Especially towards Dillen. Once again, a hand reaches up to touch his head wound.

"Damn. Yeah. Sorry about that. You weren't comin on your own though." Dillen shoves his hands into his pockets. "I got you. Something else could. Why is it so hard to have someone watch your back?"

"Kenneth, cut the crap," Stacey growls back, standing to her feet and stepping closer to him. "You need us to get back on your feet, and you fucking know it."

Taking the defensive, Kenneth puts his back against the tree as Stacey steps closer. He swallows down tightly, eyes working back and forth between the other two. "Need you?! I don't need you! The hell you're gonna get me anywhere. Not when all you're doing is standing there watching your own pack alpha rip what good reputation I have to shreds in front of Every Fuckin' Person during the moot!" His teeth grit, the pain of his head becoming white hot, causing him to clutch at the wound. As his hand draws away, there is fresh blood on his palm.

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't that. Stacey goes stock-still, mouth dropped open, eyes wide, face pale. There's a moment when it looks as though the Child is about to cry, eyes watering, then she tilts her chin up stubbornly, jaw clenched. In a sudden, unexpected motion, the girl slaps Kenneth hard across his face. "How Dare You. How fucking DARE you turn that on me! Who the hell has been listening to you all this time? Who's been encouraging you? Who has kept quiet? Kept promises? Fucking ran after you when you took off. Healed you." She steps closer, invading personal space as she glares up at him. "I would turn my back on everything here if it meant helping /you/," she hisses out, then scowls. "You've got a choice to make, Kenneth, so choose the right road for once. Take the hand that's reaching to help you."

Dillen simply stays on the ground and looks between the two.

Out of the silence, the sharpest sound of them all - a girl's slap against a boy's face - breaks the quiet. Kenneth's expression is all but one of shock at being struck, in more ways than simply physical. When the girl is right in his face, he can't help but stare back at her, eyes meeting. Speechless, he keeps staring for a time before he finally rips his eyes from their one-track gaze. In a most undignified and desperate manner, the philodox shoves past the Child to a side, bolting away from the pair in an attempt to escape.

Stacey lets him shove past her, continuing to stare at the tree in front of her. She lets out a shuddering breath, closing her eyes, the hand that slapped him closing into a fist.

Dillen pushes to his feet and walks over to Stacey. "He will be back." As he rests a hand on Stacey's shoulder. "I just hope that some day he can see us as allies and not enemies. He's burnt hard."

Stacey tenses at the touch, then looks up at Dillen. It's an intense look, filled with as much pain as there is determination. "Not yet he isn't," she whispers, then clears her throat. "I need to... patrol..." She turns abruptly and starts walking into the woods, opposite the direction Kenneth left in.

Deeper into the forest, farther than the border of the bawn, a howl faintly cries out. The Shadow Lord's voice it sounds like, roaring out in pain and anguish, rage and despair. It's a sound that doesn't care who hears it. It is simply a voice of an animal dying.

And with that, Dillen moves into Lupus and takes off in Kenneth's direction, moving as fast as he possibly can.

Stacey stops and looks back as Kenneth howls, her expression reflecting its anguish. "Call me if it's an attack!" She yells after Dillen. "Otherwise, I hope it hurts," she adds, more to herself, folding her arms stubbornly.