Far Cry Greater

7/17/2007

08:36 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

Currently the moon is in the waxing Crescent Moon phase (20% full).
It is currently 20:32 Pacific Time on Tue Jul 17 2007.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 69 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). The wind is calm today. The barometric pressure reading is 29.88 and falling, and the relative humidity is 67 percent. The dewpoint is 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius.)

Owl Woods
A quiet stretch of wood, the soothing silence broken only by the occasional rushing roar of a vehicle on the nearby highway, or the muted flutter of bird wings. This part of the wood seems very young. In fact, the oldest tree looks to be no more than fifteen years old.
Despite this youthful sylvan beauty, something is melancholy about this wood, though the nature of the problem is uncertain. It's the kind of wood where most parents feel safe letting their children play, but to some it gives a faint feeling of dread, of dangerous creatures just out of sight.
To the southwest the forest thins out, disappearing as it meets the boundary of a farm. There are deer trails and passable clearances in a few other directions, save for due west, where a steep ravine drops away.  The thickest part of these woods seems to lie to the northwest.
Contents:
Staceface
Obvious exits:
Darker Forest  East  

One of the more peculiar aspects of Thunder Cave lately? The profusion of scents that are /not/ Kenneth's hanging around. In fact, there would be scents of Moon Otter, Culls-the-Herd, and even Spits-Out-Nails mingling there with the young philodox's. His scent trails though, lead away from the cave and on down through Wolf Woods into the deeper, darker portions of forest that have been since forgotten for the most part by man. It is here, seeking solace and solitude amongst the overshadowing trees, that one Lord of Shadow has found himself a new sanctuary to think.

No matter where Kenneth may change his sanctuary to, there is one of the Sept members that always seems able to find him. The young Child Elder followed the Philodox's scent, making her way to the dark woods that they'd discovered together earlier in the summer. By the time she steps within sight, Stacey is in her birthform, smiling as she approaches. "Kenneth? Ya here?"

Far-Cry hears movement and scents out the ahroun long before he sees her, head lifting and trotting forth from his spot behind a couple of trees and bushes. A heavy chuff tells her the direction, and the halfmoon looks upon her with a neutral eye - neutral, but never truly calm. I am here.

Stacey smiles as she hears the greeting, turning and looking in his direction, picking out the black wolf from amidst the shadows. "I was lookin' for ya, noticed your scent led out this way. How are ya?"

Far-Cry looks a little relieved to see the ahroun, her smile bringing his relaxing from neutral to a more 'friendly' appearance for the normally touchy philodox. He moves up closer, close enough to just bend down and touch. Good. But not safe at Thunder Cave anymore, he replies with a backward flick of his ears. The others have found it.

Stacey probably would have leaned down to scratch his head, too, if he'd not spoken that warning. She frowns, then lets out a sigh. "I suppose it was too good to last. Only a matter of time before they found it. I'm guessing Moon Otter knew or followed or something?"

Far-Cry suddenly looks even more conflicted, gaze averting as if he's found something else to stare at for a time. Telltale sign the philodox is uncomfortable. His tail twitches behind him, a long moment passing in silence before he answers with a chuffed, Yes. Moon Otter-alpha. He knew of it long ago. It is the long-time territory of the Lords of Shadow, and has so been claimed... even if I was the only one to have held it for that long. The halfmoon eventually sits, gazing up at the ahroun. Are you angry?

Stacey listens with a sober expression, lowering herself to sit on the ground next to the wolf. "Angry?" she repeats, her expression confused. She reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I have no reason to be angry. You think I could have stood up to him either in that situation? Shoot, I'm honored you showed it to me in the first place, that I was ever able to see it. And... perhaps it was meant to be that we discover this odd corner of the woods just before this change."

It takes him a moment to figure out the ahroun's state, and then Far-Cry relaxes a degree. Only a degree, however, as he goes on. I do not know if they want you there. If you want to be there. I told them... Told Moon Otter and Culls-the-Herd that I told you of the secret because I trusted you. And now I tell you again. Because, I still do. He looks away and back again, hackles lifting and falling in an indecision between laying flat and standing up.

"That's okay," assures Stacey. "I don't want to go treading on other tribe's territories without invitation. Don't really want the tribe on my case or anything. I remember the cave, the mural, and that's reminder enough." His words bring a smile, which fades slightly upon noting his indecision. "As I trust you, Far-Cry. Nothing's happened to change that between now and then. Nor do I think anything /can/."

Far-Cry shifts his seat restlessly, then locking onto the fullmoon. They want me to go. The Shadow Lords want me. It's almost uncharacteristic, the way there is an eagerness beneath the reservations of the halfmoon's normal expression. Moon Otter, he says I could rejoin them. If I join them, we would run beneath the storms, beneath Thunder. And yet, even in that eagerness, Far-Cry looks downtrodden.

Stacey's hand lowers, then, her own expression difficult to read, a mixture of confusion, concern, interest, maybe even a bit sad. "They do?" she asks, attempting to keep her voice neutral. "That's better than what you've been offered by previous Elders, I suppose. Is that... are you considering it? I mean, is that the path you want to take?"

Far-Cry at this point pins his ears back entirely, reading even a little submissive fear through his posture. They came, and asked. I... could not tell them yet. But I did think about it. I still am thinking. He glances back to the ahroun. But, there is you. Your Fostern pack. Walks-the-Middle-Road, I told you I would go with you and join your pack for this hunt. But when the hunt is over... then what?

Stacey nods as he speaks, her own arms wrapping around her legs as she considers, his fear only adding to her own confusion. "After the hunt? My previous offer remains, if you still desire to pack. There's no one in the Sept I'd rather pack with. We could find a third member, pursue a totem of wisdom, maybe Owl," she adds, glancing at the woods near them, "or... Chimera. I'm not sure. It's not as certain as this plan your tribe has."

Gazing briefly off into the thicker woods, Far-Cry takes a moment to simply let the fear run its course. There's no immediate danger to him, after all. And when he's a bit more relaxed, he looks back. You and I have been through much. It is like we were pack without being pack. But we are without that deeper bond. The bond we felt with our packmates, under the totems we had, that bond. If that bond were to come again for us... If it could exist, I would take it. The Lords of Shadow... they are my tribe. But they are not... I am uncertain about how they truly feel. They say welcome me back, even if I choose not to join them.

The Child is still confused as to the source of his fear, but she smiles as he speaks. "That is how I feel," admits Stacey. "It almost seems... wrong that there is not that bond, as if it's a link that's not missing. Or not really missing, but not being /used/. Let us look these months during my challenge for a third who might share in the bond of a pack, to complete the circle needed. And if you decide in that time that the Shadow Lords truly feel as they say, and that you'd rather walk the path they offer... I'd understand. ...That's not what you were concerned about, is it?"

Far-Cry flattens his ears as Stacey points it out. His fear. And in a desperate effort, he forces himself back up to his feet and shakes himself thoroughly, casting it off by sheer force of will. Instead of letting it continue, the Shadow Lord looks back to the Gaian. They said I was poisoned. That Song-of-Fury had poisoned me against them. That the only way to get this poison out was to go back to them.

Where Kenneth looks uncharacteristically fearful, Stacey looks unusually angered by what he relays. She bares her teeth in a decidedly feral fashion, a growl escaping her homid throat as she pushes up to her feet. "As much as I respect their positions, that is a load of bullshit," she snaps. "Jarred was the poisoned one! And Lucas may have been tainted! But you, you worked hard to overcome all of that! I have watched you closely during our years here, and I say, with Chimera and Unicorn as my witnesses," she adds, pointing in the direction of the Caern, "in the revealing Light of Luna, that you are not poisoned. If there had been any in you, you sucked it out through your effort, with the help of those who stood by you, and spit it back in the faces of the enemy! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you are a Far-Cry-Greater than they see! And one day, one day they will be sorry they were so blind." Her tirade coming to an end, she takes in a deep breath, trying to rein in the rage that threatens to boil over.

Taken completely aback by the ahroun's rant, Far-Cry just blinks in surprise. Surprise, and a little tension as she goes on building in him too just by proxy. The halfmoon backs up a couple of paces, waiting out her tirade, before finally trying to calm her. They meant, Walks-the-Middle-Road... that Song-of-Fury was poisoned, yes. They meant, it was not my fault. And... I believe they mean well. Even if they are Shadow Lords. He looks up at her face a little longer, tongue coming out to lick his muzzle. Moon Otter especially. He is the one who acknowledged me. He says, it would be good to join their pack because I have taken care of that place so long. And they want to reclaim it for Thunder. And it would be good if I was there, because I know the land. Here he glances away again, for a split second, in the direction of Thunder Cave. Then Far-Cry looks back.

It takes the Ahroun a moment to calm down, eyeing the Philodox for a good moment before she speaks again, her expression doubtful, whatever her more carefully chosen words say. "Of course they mean well." For their tribe. "And there are few that could point at all that happened and have the nerve to say it was your fault. Moon Otter is certainly the best Shadow Lord there. I am not surprised that he can recognize potential. But does he not also know the land, having been of the Sept before?"

Far-Cry slowly sits back down once it looks like the fullmoon has calmed. He knows the land. But he has been gone. And... there are cubs to teach, in the west woods on the bawn. He said I could go meet them, too. I met Demands-Answers already, a halfmoon like me. Well, not completely like me. For whatever reason, Far-Cry suddenly looks lost again on what to do and say. Still, he reasons aloud, Culls-the-Herd I think does not like me. And will not ever like me. Not while she... not while she is with cubs in her womb. The philodox ponders on this, glancing over to the ahroun and away every now and again.

"As you should meet and help teach them," encourages Stacey. "You're a good Philodox, Kenneth. The cub will learn a lot from you. Better you than the other, eh?" she says with a faint smile, her voice lowering as she kneels down. "And I wouldn't worry about gaining her favor. It's the other that matters more. He's challenging, you see? And do you think he will remain second forever? Or does he see himself as stronger?"

Far-Cry turns back to Stacey wth a blink. He is challenging to be adren. It will not be long before those two challenge each other further, because they are both born of new moon, and both are Shadow Lord. But Moon Otter... is different from Culls-the-Herd. He stares at the ahroun a little longer, as if trying to read more into her. But then he shakes it off, again standing restlessly with a snort. Spits-out-nails is also philodox. He could teach the cubs. What need do they have of me? His ears swing back, but pride swings them forward again. The Shadow Lord stamps a paw on the ground and turns back to the ahroun. We have to find another. Maybe in your fostern pack. Who else have you found?

Stacey nods to Far-Cry. "So he announced at Moot. Already Elder, which will make the approaching meeting... interesting. Might see some different times ahead." As the wolf stares at her, Stacey merely looks back with a raised brow, then shrugs, certainly not handing out further insights at the moment. "Indeed, it's not so much a matter of need as it is... Well, where you want to stand, how you want to be viewed." That line of thought is not explained further, either, as he seems to pretty much answer that with his last comments, and she smiles. "I've spoken with Aja, and she has agreed to help. Tomorrow, I shall go to Cedric's and seek out Jonathan. Then the Fostern pack will, Gaia willing, be complete." She takes in a breath, then lets it out slowly. "I almost want to say that it should be someone else who has struggled, who knows how hard it is to regain honor, renown..."

Far-Cry's expression, even in the dark, could only be described as wry. The philodox ends up moving forward to nudge the ahroun lightly with his shoulder, bumping against her in a reassurance. Things will work as Gaia wills. But it doesn't hurt to have a bit of advantage on your side either, when dealing with what comes. Trust. That is what it comes down to. And that, I have. In you.

Stacey's expression brightens at that, causing her to look much more like her usual optimistic self. She reaches out an arm to give him a friendly hug after the nudge, resting her forehead briefly on the fur of his neck. "Thank you, Far-Cry. As long as we have each other's trust, stand by each other, I've faith it will all work out."

Far-Cry doesn't budge as he is hugged, but he doesn't quite reciprocate just yet. Instead he turns to the girl and lolls out his tongue. You speak like a true Child of Gaia, Peacemaker. On this note, what say you we go find some new trees that need your affection?

Stacey smirks at that, releasing him from the hug. "Me? Sound like a Child?" she chuckles, then stretches before she stands with a grin. "That could be fun. I'm always up for some explorin'."

Far-Cry lifts his tail a touch, but curls it in a happier, less worried manner. A playful manner. Race you to that one tree on the cliff! he growls out in a definitely competitive manner, and then takes off like a bat out of hell, sprinting through the woods.

"HEY! Wait until I shift, cheater!" calls Stacey in a teasing, playful manner, already running after him even before she melts down into her lupus form, charging through the forest after him.

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