Unwelcome News
1/19/2007
04:38 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waxing New Moon phase (6% full).
It is currently 16:19 Pacific Time on Fri Jan 19 2007.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the north at 8 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.14 and steady, and the relative humidity is 93 percent. The dewpoint is 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius.)
The Prairie House: Main Floor(#2245RJ)
A small foyer leads into the prairie-style house from the front door. A set of stairs veers off to the immediate right of the foyer and curves around to the second-floor. The long, narrow hallway walls are a coral color with glazed porcelain floor tile the color of artifact clay. To the side of the front door is a LCD screen that monitors the home by a computer as it leads into the other rooms located on the main floor. The 'living and dinning room' are seen immediately to the left of the long, narrow hallway. The walls are a dark grey colored with slate-gray tiles which are covered by a plush red floor rug.
A linen-closet and powder room are seen on the right side of the hallway just before the kitchen. The 'kitchen' looks like the inside of a spaceship with steel appliances and a high-tech design. The countertops have a translucent, geometric aqua-tinted glass with a modern looking sink. The kitchen table is simply an angled kitchen bar with barstools that unite the nook with the kitchen. Connecting the garage with the kitchen is a utility room with a washer and drier. To the back right corner of the house is a 'family room' with a fireplace that looks as through it has been turned into an office. The walls are the same as the living and dinning room. The Master Suite is found at the end of the hallway to the back left corner of the house.
(Type '+view' for more details of the rooms and other rooms)
Contents:
Saul
Vera
Xia
Obvious exits:
Master Suite Outside
[look Vera (homid)]
Vera is a woman of average height in her mid to late twenties whose features have been prematurely aged though hardship and the elements. Prominent crows feet are visible on the woman's face, along with a number of deep lines around her mouth and across her forehead. Plain dark brown hair is pulled back in a simple ponytail, framing fairly angular features and a smallish nose. The woman's eyes are a dark brown, almost black in colour and hold little emotion. She carries herself with an aura of confidence and there is the faintest hint of a Russian accent in her voice.
The woman dresses in a fairly neat clothes, consisting of a pair of black pants and a flattering red top. Around her neck, Vera wears a dark iron brooch shaped in the form of a perched crow, polished black. The bird's features a extenuated by a pair of tiny red gemstones for eyes. Known for being thieves, the crow appears to have stolen a pearl that almost seems to look like a miniature moon plucked from the sky.
Vera arrives with Saul in tow, pulling up into the driveway. The junkers' engine falls silent with a clunking sigh, before the Adren steps out into the chill and slams the door closed behind her. Stepping up to Xia's door, she knocks firmly.
Blurry-eyed, Xia answers the door. Seeing that its Vera and a stranger behind the Alpha, she opens up the door for the two. "Evening, Vera." she says.
Vera smiles easily, then looks further into the house, focused on something distant for a moment. "Kenneth is here," she states, while stepping inside. "I'd like to speak with him about recent events, while the moon remains small. This young man," the Adren indicates Saul at her side. "Is the newest member of our family. Saul, would you kindly give Xia your full introduction?"
In the midst of the end ritual of freshening up, Kenneth is in and catching up on the latest in the more human world. The philodox, with towel draped over his shoulders and a loose fitting sweatsuit on, steps out of the bathroom and comes into view behind Xia. At the entrance of his elder and the newly-named, the halfmoon says nothing, but dips his head in greeting to the both of them. An evaluation is made through his stare towards the young man behind the elder, results pending.
[look Saul (homid)]
The boy standing here is around five and a half feet tall. On second thought, young man might be a better word. He has the features of youth but a look in his eyes no child should ever have. Hard eyes, green and brown, eyes that show almost nothing and glimmer like ice under the sun. He seems fairly light, weighing perhaps a hundred and twenty pounds. His hair is dark brown and disheveled, perhaps couple inches in length and wavy. His bangs fall just short of his eyes, covering his forehead and the top of his brows. He should be attractive for his age, with tight, tanned skin, moderately full lips, large eyes and a face drawn in soft angles. Except that it is less drawn and more chiseled of granite, utterly unyielding and nearly devoid of expression. He dresses in neutral tones, often jeans with a T-shirt: brown, black or green. His clothing tends to be well fitted, looser than it is tight, but never too baggy.
Saul bows his head to Xia for a brief moment before speaking, "Saul Verargert, Ahroun Shadow Lord Cub. Pleased to meet you. Afraid I don't have much of a wolf name yet."
Xia clearly hasn't mentioned anything to Kenneth as of yet, waiting for the elder to make her appearance. She steps aside, allowing Kenneth to come into view. "Of course," she says to Vera. Then, becomes distracted by Saul's introduction. The woman offers out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Saul. I am Xia." she replies.
Saul takes Xia's hand in a firm but painless handshake. Noticing Kenneth standing further up the hallway, he gives a nod of acknowledgement before releasing Xia's hand and turning his gaze to Vera.
"Xia is kinfolk to our Tribe," Vera explains to Saul, as she places herself between Kenneth and Xia. "I've come to let you know of some very momentous news, Kenneth. With the full blessing of her family and my approval, Xia is to be married to Scott Preston. You should give her your congratulations."
Kenneth picks up the towel's edge, scrubbing lightly to dry off his damp hair as introductions are made. The words 'ahroun' and 'Shadow Lord' make him pause for a second, but with Vera's approach he drops the towel back to its passive drape. He's noticed that clear interception, and his eyes harden just that little bit in a tense second. But it's the marriage announcement that strikes an invisible blow. Kenneth blinks and eyes widen in surprise. His lips depart from their neutral line to part slightly. A Look is cast towards Xia, accusing, invisibly stepping around and past the tribal elder.
Xia looks back towards Kenneth, biting her lip with a frown behind it, her eyes downcast almost imediately. The kin doesn't say a word in Vera's presence.
Vera pointed keeps herself between Kenneth and the kinswoman. "Not going to give her your congratulations?"
Saul closes the door behind himself and leans back on it, remaining silent and watching the other three.
"Is that an order, Vera-rhya, or am I free to offer my feelings of disappointment?" Kenneth finally speaks, pushing himself into a verbal, if sarcastically laced, reply. "I think I'm more surprised she settled down." Ouch.
"It wasn't my choice, Kenneth." Xia suddenly snaps at the Philodox. "The arrangement was made between Vera and my grandfather."
"You should be happy for her, as her family is," Vera replies easily. "As for disappointment, you can be selfish if you wish, so long as it does not go beyond simple words."
Were the philodox to be in a more lupine form, Kenneth'd probably be baring his teeth. As he's not, the homid form's reflection is done with scathing tone. "Oh sure, I'm ecstatic that she is able to assume her 'rightful' place... as a way to further the lines. Not like our relationship was serious in the first place. Strictly business, wasn't it, Xia?"
"If it was strictly business, then I would have given up on you when Dwight left!" Xia's face is turning slowly red with anger.
Vera slowly shakes her head, a mildly disgusted look appearing on her features. "I really don't care how you two work this out, so long as neither of you do anything foolish. I, myself, have other duties to attend to and would like one of you to join me. That way, you will both have a chance to simmer down and think things over, before you do something regrettable."
Saul cocks an eyebrow, opening the front door again and moving to lean against the wall, awaiting Vera's lead.
Kenneth whips the towel off from around his neck, a burst of his temper edging past control. "You sure it wasn't when you found out the truth about me?!" he counters, fist clenching around the fabric. "The whole reason you came out here was probably to scout someone out to put a rock on your finger and a dick in between your legs in the first place!" As Vera speaks up, his eyes whip towards her and for a moment the philodox's unabated anger pours out in her direction. He only just catches it, pulling back hard on the chains. "Whatever. Do as you like," he snorts, turning away and taking stiff steps towards the bathroom again.
Xia looks expectantly towards Kenneth. "We need to talk this out right now." Xia says calmly. "Alone." She turns to Vera, "He's not going to do anything," she confirms in a positive tone.
Vera's jaw sets in a firm line. "I do not trust his temper right now," she states flatly, "and neither should you."
Saul remains expressionless and motionless, eyes resting on Kenneth.
On his way to the bathroom, Kenneth stalks up to the threshold and stops. Not turning around, the philodox directs his glare down the short hall. "Just tell me one thing. How long ago did you plan this?" The question is undirected, save it is asked out loud in the silence.
"It's not any different than any other tantrum he has thrown. Please Vera," she requests. "Just give me some time to speak with him. If I don't call you in a hour, then assume that there is something wrong." Then the kin's eyes turn towards the Philodox. "I just heard of this two days ago." she replies.
Vera's teeth grind. "Garou tantrums are not the same as human tantrums. I am bringing Saul to meet with Abraxas. You may return here in a few hours, once tempers have had time to cool."
Xia sighs a little, "Fine." she replies. She picks up her purse and her keys from the front hall table where she had left them. "I'll go to the library to study," she remarks. "You two don't need me around."
Xia would know by now, the signs of Kenneth broadcasting his distinct displeasure towards a situation. Building frustrations, even on the thin sliver of the moon, wax his anger. He pushes down the Beast though, clacking on another chain of control. "So, go already," he growls. "I'll be outta here in a minute."
"Do you need a lift," Vera asks not-unkindly, as she turns her back on Kenneth and focuses on the kinswoman.
Xia shakes her head as she turns to open the door. "No thanks, I will be fine." she replies to the Alpha. She steps out of the house, heading towards her vehcile.
Kenneth steps off into the restroom, not a word said. There is, though, a door slammed followed by the sound of rummaging and the hair dryer turning on.
Vera waits until Xia has pulled out of the driveways and gets into her own car. Even then, she only drives a block down the street and keeps watch over the house for the next twenty minutes or so.
Xia is true to her word and looks to be heading towards town.
Twenty minutes passes by, well, rather quickly. Just under the half-hour mark, Kenneth reappears at the front door to the place with his racquet bag slung over his shoulder. The philodox is leaving, locking the door up. And for a moment, he pauses to look at what's in his hand before letting the object in it drop. It catches the street light in a brief glint. Then he's off and walking, shoulders hunching in indication of a continued foul mood.
Once Kenneth is well out of sight, Vera moves to retrieve the dropped object, then makes her way downtown.
[And Later on towards nightfall...]
Sunrise Road, South of I-90
Sunrise Road is a two-lane asphalt road that has been recently lined to accomodate the steadily growing level of traffic. Formerly poor farmers, hermits, and homesteaders have suddenly found themselves sitting on a small fortune as property values skyrocketed with the encroaching suburb developments. Most are selling their land or large portions of it to developers, cashing out and moving to warmer climates. Sunrise Road is still predominantly flanked on both sides by evergreen forest and punctuated by an occasional mailbox and driveway leading back off the road. But every so often large swaths of forest are in various stages of being cut down and cleared for new housing developments as Kent Crossing becomes a more and more popular "bedroom community" for people that work in St. Claire but don't care to actually live within the large, crowded, and troubled city. The majority of construction is occuring to the south where Sunrise Road connects with Highway 22 near Kent Crossing, growing less and less the further north one travels.
The road runs north toward I-90, and south into the woods. On the eastern side of the road, a gravel lane extends to the east before turning north and running parallel to the road.
Contents:
Xia
Obvious exits:
Nicholson Hall Denton Farm Hawk's Haven Escrowe Farm North, Under I-90 South
Normally, Kenneth would be traveling light without his racquet bag, long disappeared into the forests after shifting to his wolf form and taking off. Tonight however, is far different. Stalking along the road, bag slung over his shoulder, he appears like a hitchhiker but without any sort of thumb stuck out to be going anywhere. Not that it much matters - this section of road has activity in the daytime with construction vehicles moving, but at night there's no one but the occassional passing car. Even then, he doesn't travel directly on the side of the road, choosing to walk a few feet from its edge with the traffic, heading north. Away from Kent Crossing. Away from people.
After an hour the kin turned around from the library and went back to the house. Finding it empty, she took her next lead and decided to drive along the edge of the bawn. After hours of serching, her car slowly creeps up alongside Kenneth on the roadside. "Kenneth," she calls out towards the Philodox.
Kenneth doesn't reply. At least, not at first. He's taken one look at that car and then kept gazing forward out into the dark. Keep moving, seems to be his solution. "Go home, Xia," he answers her with teeth grit after.
Xia parks the car on the side of the road and takes a step out of the car. She heads after Kenneth on foot. "I cannot go home," she replies.
"That's bullshit," Kenneth replies in a matter-of-fact sort of attitude. "You got a man waitin' on you, and a whole 'family' just itchin' to kick a ceremony off." Bitter? No, really? Still, he's slowed his pace just a bit.
"I don't think you understand," the kin explains. "I had no voice in this decision." She stops, not walking any further. "I like Scott and I wouldn't like it very much if you killed him, but I love you more. Scott has excepted that... and I am sure that he still will." She adds, "But, I only have two choices now..." There is silence before there is the sound of safety lock being removed on a gun. "If I cannot make you happy, perhaps I don't deserve life anymore."
Kenneth comes to a stop, tensing as he turns around. His eyes, made more black by the dark, seem shadowed in more ways than mere color. "What the hell are you talking about? Why the /fuck/ are you--" The flow of words are staunched, the halfmoon applying a mental tourniquet. He stares at the woman, breath wisping out in quick vapors. "What are you, crazy?"
"I never came out here to have someone put a rock on my finger and a dick in between my legs, Kenneth." Xia says calmly. Her shaking hand still holds the gun firmly to her temple. "The time has come where I no longer can do whatever I feel like," she replies softly. "I am being asked to perform my duties as a kin." Her face is tight as she tries to hold in her emotions. "If you cannot agree with this conjoining and not allow me to still love you.... perhaps I don't deserve anything."
Kenneth narrows his eyes, and that gaze of his is trained on the gun pointed to the woman's temple. In the silence of the night, he seems to chew over many a thing. "Is this how you think you'll get me to say everything's ok? At gunpoint?" His tone is flat. Angry. In a way, characteristic of the youth when he's uncomfortable.
"If you knew what is in the best interest of your tribe, you would say that everything was okay and that you love me." replies Xia, her tone growing softer. She doesn't lower the gun; her grip grows tighter around the handle.
"Being in this tribe has brought nothing but shit to my life!" Kenneth snaps, voice raising in volume a few degrees. "And your getting hitched does nothing to change that!" The philodox drops his bag to the ground and storms forward a couple feet, eyes ablaze with anger. Perhaps Vera's warning not to trust his temper holds more truth. "Why the fuck would you think I'd lie to you and say it was ok? Who do you think I am? Who do you think you are, to tell me what to think or how to feel?!" His progression forward continues until he's right up close, only a yard away when he stops, breathing hard to try and contain himself.
"Because it's my entire fault!" Xia calls back at the same volume, realizing that she has been a horrible kin. "It's my fault you ended up this way." Her hand holding the gun goes limp as she allows it to fall on the ground. She takes a step up to Kenneth and presses a very firm and passionate kiss against his lips. She wants to show him exactly what sort of feelings she has for him that is apparently isn't communicated effectively in words.
Kenneth's eyes go wide at her explanation and following kiss. The philodox, for all his guardedness, hadn't expected that sort of approach. Mind still on the sound of the gun thudding against the dirt, for those few moments at initial contact, he's stunned. Then gradually, the kinswoman can feel his arms wrapping around her, clinging, drawing her close and holding tight. The kiss is echoed in full, his passion in the moment like a wave breaking on the shore. And then like that wave, it pulls back reluctantly to make room for smaller lappings. "For someone who's gone to a university, you're pretty dumb," he says quietly, calmer after.
Xia slips her hands around Kenneth's shoulders. "You're just too complicated," she says as she pulls him in for another kiss which has as much intensity as the last. She slides one of his hands down, making sure that he has a good feel of her behind.
Some things can't be secreted away. One of those is the turmoil within the 'complicated' halfmoon as he's pulled in and kissed again. Kenneth offers no resistance to her guidance, even pushing her back with an eager pace, back towards the car. "Why Scott...?" he asks between manuevering.
"Pick up my gun," Xia requests while she heads for her car. She hadn't noticed just how cold it is outside and that she is, indeed, cold until now. Once Kenneth is in the car, she turns to him and answers his question, "Vera has documents to support the fact that Scott has a strong bloodline. My father appeared to be pleased with Scott's military background."
And just like that, she's released and he's left there catching his breath. Kenneth's mind takes a moment to back up to the new topic at hand, and he glances back towards the weapon lying somewhere down there in the dirt. The gun. So he goes to pick it up, though the expression that he'd rather leave it lying there is lost in the dark. After retrieving his dropped bag as well, the halfmoon steps back to the car and pauses at the passenger side door. It's a moment he takes, deciding between getting in or not. It's the former that happens, though this turn taken doesn't seem to offer much comfort. "'Course he does," he mutters, eyes and fingers on the gun he now holds. His fingers wrap about the handle, lightly touching the trigger. "Would you really have shot yourself?"
Xia leans across the seat and takes the gun from out of his hand, placing it safely back into the glove compartment. "Yes," she replies as her hand is placed on his upper thigh. Her lips lightly brush across his cheek.
Kenneth sucks in a tight breath, and then exhales slowly. "Would have sealed both our fates if you did," he notes, eyes closing briefly at the contact on his cheek. Before she can pull away, a hand jumps up to grab her chin, to pull her face to his so their eyes can meet. Behind his black gaze is a burning fire. "Don't you ever threaten me like that again, Xia. It's Your life. It's not a bargaining chip. Don't ever make me choose your fate." A low, quiet rant, but one nonetheless. One that is concluded with a hard, one might describe as invasive kiss.
Xia feels the grip that Kenneth has and is forced to look into the Philodox's eyes. She places her hand on Kenneth's cheek, moaning into his lips to the invasive kiss. "I cannot understand your... needs if you don't tell me or show me..." she says once he breaks the kiss.
The break is a bit long in coming, but it does. His fingers loosen their grip, allowing her movement. Kenneth looks deep into her eyes, searching for something and seemingly without a direction. "You are... perhaps the most beautiful woman I've ever met," he says softly, breath exhaling slowly. "And I would... if I could..." A pause. "There is nothing you need to do for me. You don't owe me." He slowly sits back in the seat, eyes drifting towards the empty road before them.
Xia strokes her fingers through Kenneth's hair once he sits back in the seat. "One thing that Vera or Scott can never take away is my dedication and love for you, Kenneth." she says. "And, I do owe you... I owe you my life." She starts the car to get the heat going, although she doesn't move just yet.
Kenneth closes his eyes for a short moment, savoring the contact of her hand in his hair. His eyes open after and for once, a gentler gaze looks upon the kinswoman. "And I want you to know that I know it. And I'm... thankful." He lifts his hand again, this time to brush his fingers lightly along her cheek. "I'm sorry. About what I said before."
"It's okay," Xia says softly. "You were angry. Vera doesn't understand or care about love, all she cares about is making more Garou-babies." She leans her head into that brush along her cheek.
"Somehow I doubt she even cares about that," Kenneth replies as he retracts his hand. "I... also tossed the key to your place somewhere." It's not a proud admittance, and once again he's uncomfortable, acting just a little awkward. "So, what now?"
"We'll go back to the house and look for your key." replies the kinfolk. She puts the vehicle into drive and pulls away from the curb, makes a U-turn, and heads back towards Kent Crossing.
Kenneth leans back into the seat once more, eyes averting in embarrassment with the kinfolk's rather matter-of-fact reply. And for the majority of the trip back, the philodox is silent, contemplating the future to come.
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