Music Soothes The Beast
7/30/2007
12:02 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waning Full Moon phase (95% full).
It is currently 11:58 Pacific Time on Mon Jul 30 2007.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly sunny today. The temperature is 66 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from variable directions at 5 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.14 and falling, and the relative humidity is 56 percent. The dewpoint is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius.)
Big Red Barn(#3420RA)
The barn is built in the old style, a vast three level structure that is greater in height than a mere three stories, actually closer to five. Great wooden posts support the weight of the upper levels and roof, sunk into the hard-packed dirt floor of the first level like a sparse forest of regularly spaced, naked trees. The stalls and flagstones which once were here have been torn out to leave a rather open area where even crinos Garou may roam freely without fear of running into anything but the supports or the walls or the ladder at the back which allows access to the other two levels.
The first two levels are relatively open to each other, the second being only little wider than a catwalk going around all the walls but the front one, which has massive, twenty foot tall doors set into it. The third level is a true second floor except for a place cut out that allowed hay to be tossed down to the ground floor when the farm was actually worked. Now, it is a hayloft where Garou can sleep outside of the house.
Contents:
Salee
Found
Obvious exits:
BarnYard
Found wakes after a night of good lupus sleep, still noticing the other cub's head on his back. He gives what amounts to a lupus grin as he turns his head and begins to nibble along her fur, wanting to wake her, but gently.
The cub stirs a bit and then slowly lifts her head, blinking almost groggily. Suddenly, she jumps to her feet, apparently startled. Oh, right. Salee relaxes again quickly. I'm a wolf. On purpose. I remember now.
Found is in here in the barn, the two wolves near one corner with Found having patches of burned fur and a chewed up shoulder. He looks at Salee-Woof when she jumps as he slowly wags his tail. How did you sleep?
Best night's sleep I've had in ages. Salee's tail flicks back and forth lazily as she flops back down on the floor. And you? She peers over her shoulder, checking to make sure that her violin case is still out of the way where she left it before she shifted to Lupus.
Found grins and nuzzles Salee a moment. Was good. Is joy of lupus. He slowly stands up as he continues to happily give his tail a few wags. Think you can handle being away from your bitch? For awhile?
Salee tilts her head to one side quizzically. It's a very human gesture. What? She rises to her feet again slowly and then stretches out her back with a yawn.
Found just gives a lupus smile. Nevermind. He sits back on his haunchs for the moment, giving a look about before giving a wide yawn, opening his maw wide while letting his tongue hang out.
Salee circles around the barn slowly, getting some of the stiffness of sleep out while also acclimating herself to this form she isn't quite used to yet. How you feeling?
Found sits there. The pain is less. Still hurts. He give what amounts to a shrug, Still alive. He pauses a moment, and looks about. Need stick.
Salee pauses in her slow walk and blinks at the other wolf. Stick? Why?
Found wags. He looks about before sniffing under a pile of hay. A moment later he manages to pull out a foot long stick, holding one end in jaws. Slowly he walks over to Salee-Woof, offering the other end to the other lupus. Mine!
Salee seems skeptical for a moment before carefully taking the other end of the stick in her own jaws. Now what?
The barn doors open to admit one human. Rather, Kenneth looks human, but his posture is far from it from the tense rolling of his shoulders, the hunching line of his back, and the way he eyes the direction of the battered old punching bag like it were some prey animal. It's only after he's a good distance into the large central area that he notices the two wolves there, and stops. The Shadow Lord gives an instinctive, reflexive, ineffectual sniff of his human nose.
The wolf peering about keenly is smaller than the image generally conjured up when one thinks of a wolf. Lean and lithe with pale green eyes that seem ever attentive, ever alert. Brown fur covers the young wolf's body, slightly redder on top of her head and a lighter cream colour down the length of her nose, fading to white at the underside of her muzzle. Her legs are almost a dirty blonde colour, with white paws, the length of her back is peppered with grey, all the way down her tail except for the very tip, which is jet black.
Found looks to Salee-woof, eye to eye, before he 'says' Mine! Mine! Mine! Tugging back on the stick, trying to set up a tug of war with it. Kenneth for the moment? Ignored.
Salee tugs back with a playful growl that almost sounds like a giggle. She drops the stick with a start when the doors open, however. Pale green eyes stare up at Kenneth, tense until she recognizes the face.
Kenneth doesn't move from where he's stopped in the central arena of the barn, scrutinizing the pair of wolves. It's only a distant observation however, and he simply gives Salee an acknowledgingly tolerant feel of his gaze. Found with his stick is less noticed, but recognized.
Found gives a playful growl back, but when Salee drops her end, Found..well, isn't as happy. He does glance over with an eye to Kenneth, his ear flicking before looking back to Salee.
Salee drops her head low in a mimicry of a respectful bow to Kenneth. It's clear by body language that she cannot control that his gaze and maybe even just his presence has her nervous.
Kenneth turns his gaze from Salee onto Found then, staring at that cub instead. The recognition from before turns into one of regard. "You're that cub who wanted in with the Shadow Lords," he remarks, voice kept neutral. "Felix is looking for you, you know."
It's at that point that the barn door opens again, just wide enough to admit Ruth. She closes the door behind her again, and blinks as her eyes adjust to the change in light levels.
Found pauses a moment and looks to Kenneth. Spits-Out-Nails was here. One does not want to be a shadow lord. Things have changed. He sits there and looks at Kenneth a moment before watching Ruth come in.
Salee looks suddenly surprised and backs away from Lost-and-Found. It's with no small amount of concentration that the red wolf changes back to her Homid form. Her eyes flick back to the door again, settling on Ruth with some sort of recognition.
Kenneth stares at Found with slightly narrowed eyes at the pup's reply. It's not more than a few moments of silence later that he gives a grunt, lips thinning in mixed signals of his response to the statement from the lost cub. "Of course you don't want to be a Shadow Lord," he states plainly. As Salee shifts, he glances at her to watch. Then he turns with the sound of the barn doors opening, spotting Ruth after the dust settles. His head nods to note her, and he proceeds on towards the punching bag without another word.
"Hello Kenneth," Ruth greets the other half-moon, in a friendly but not overly familiar manner. She smiles at Found, then looks at Salee a little blankly before her expression clears. "We saw one another inside the other day, and then I got caught up in other things. I'm Ruth, Cracks-the-Not-of-Truth, half-moon of the Children of Gaia."
Found moves over and nuzzles Salee-Woof. Nutcracker-Rhya is a good garou. Before he moves a few steps back to where he was, just watching Kenneth, not exactly happy with him.
Salee nods slowly. "You told a story, didn't you? I wish I could have understood it..." She looks embarrassed by her lack of knowledge in the language spoken by other Garou. "It's nice to /formally/ meet you, though. I'm Sally. Ragabash cub of the Glass Walkers." The redheaded girl allows Found to nuzzle her, but then she backs up to the wall, sitting next to where she left her violin case. Out of the way.
Ruth looks back at Found again, and twizzles a raw but healing finger in the air. "Give us a turn around, Matt, let's see how the damage is healing now."
Found seems to roll his eyes to that, as he steps forward, and slowly turns in a circle. The wounds do look a bit better, and the burns on his pelt are less pronounced. Still, there's a bit of a limp in the shoulder with the bite on it.
Ruth nods, seemingly satisfied. "Try to keep the weight off that front leg, but stretch it gently so the skin doesn't pull too tight as it heals. Although," she shrugs, "Garou generally heal fine even if they do everything they shouldn't anyway, short of a proper battlescar. You'll do." She tugs a brown paper bag from the back of her jeans, where she's had it tucked into her belt to keep her hands free. "Brought some biscuits. Um, that's cookies to you, I suppose. Share them around, there's more inside." She sets the bag on top of a hay bale, then sits down herself.
Kenneth, having listened and watched quietly, does end up speaking up. "Where'd you get all that from?" The question's addressed to Found, looking over the wounds once more.
"He followed the Litany," Salee says before Found can respond. "Fought the Wyrm." She shoots the wolf a small smile. "I think it was incredibly brave of him."
Found is taken aback when Salee speaks for him, before he looks to Salee. Not brave. Is duty. before he glances back to Kenneth a moment, not offering up any more information then that. Though, he does sniff as he smells the cookies.
"Jacinta-rhya held a Rite to help strengthen the Caern," Ruth explains for Kenneth's benefit. "The end of it involved taking action... and seems everybody assumed Found was with somebody else. Kenneth, who's best to talk to in your Tribe about Matt here?" She nods in the cub's direction, as if to show that she's aware he's present and listening. "Your new Elder? Because I don't want to go stepping on toes, but neither do I want to do nothing and find out later that everybody thought everybody else knew what the situation was, but everybody thought differently, and Matt ends up falling through the cracks."
"Ah, whatever happened to that howl-happy galliard side, only all too eager to tell a story of explosive action and Glory," Kenneth notes sarcastically with a flippant gesture. His manner is at first dismissing, but then he turns back to seriousness and snaps at the cub like the silence does irritate him more than he lets on. "Seriously though, I was just fucking asking. You don't have to be all shut up around me 'cause I'm a 'goddamn Shadow Lord' and you decided you weren't cut out for it. Maybe you're even better off for it." Ruth's explanation and question ends up drawing his gaze away and onto the Child instead. The intensity lessens, vaguely. "Moon Otter's the tribal alpha now, like he claimed at the moot. All the better to help Vera manage her Sept Alpha duties with."
Salee blinks several times. What did she just say? Everybody thought... everybody... what? The girl keeps her mouth shut, clearly not expected to contribute to this part of the conversation. In fact, she tries to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. If only she could just melt into the floor and disappear. That would be awesome right about now.
Ruth nods, seemingly unperturbed at Kenneth's outburst. Perhaps even a little amused by it, although with no suggestion of laughing at the other half-moon. "Stereotypes, remember?" she says in an aside to Matt. "Kenneth was my teacher, and a good one, although it took me a while to work that out."
Found pauses and looks to Kenneth. He shifts to glabro. "Honestly? I was told you're a good person Kenneth, but, I'm not exactly happy with the shadow lords at the moment." he looks to Salee, "Out of respect, I do not air my problems with them in front of Salee. she will find her own impressions of the tribe in time." he looks to Ruth, "I wouldn't worry about the cracks. Ain't none that the wyrm can hide in small enough to escape from me."
Ruth rolls her eyes heavenwards and takes a slow breath, deliberately releasing the tension in her jaw. "Careful what you say, people /will/ expect you to prove your words," she says. "I'll be back later, I have people to find. See you, Kenneth-yuf. Salee. Matt." Lifting a hand in a farewell gesture, she lets herself back out again.
Kenneth lets out a thin breath, tossing a hand up to the departing Gaian like he's actually giving her a good bye in return. Left with the two cubs again, he turns back to Matt. Salee's wish seems to be granted for now as the Shadow Lord focuses on the glabro'd galliard. "And what makes you not so happy with the Lords of Shadow, at the moment?" he interrogates rather mildly given his previous outburst.
Salee gives Ruth a quick nod before turning her attention back to Kenneth and Matt. Eyes flitting between the pair nervously.
Matt looks to Kenneth a moment, then Salee, before he starts speaking the mothers tongue. ~I was lied to, repeatedly accused of petty things. Boo frickity hoo that Moon Otter had to 'warn' his cubs, because of me. That he 'had' to teach them combat. I did not think the tribe was for scholors, but rather for true warriors. I found I was wrong.~
Kenneth straightens a little, some keywords catching his attention more than others. It's when Matt looks towards Salee that the philodox's eyes turn in her direction as well. They don't stay long, as he directs his faculties back towards watching the Glabro's use of the Mother Tongue. "Don't use flowery language with me, cub, I'm a philodox. What petty things were you accused of? Who lied to you?"
Salee peers around apprehensively, unable to understand Matt's words. She finally pulls her violin case into her lap and opens it up, busying herself with its contents as means of warding off her own nervousness. Fortunately for the Ragabash, she didn't notice Kenneth's eyes upon her.
Matt looks to Kenneth, then just uses regular english. "Fuck it then. When I first got here, from the glass walker safe house, I attacked Hal, or tried to at least. Alesia stoped me, but I kept fighting her. So I was accused of 'scaring the cubs' that had to be warned because of me. That they couldn't be taught about the spirits, and instead had to be taught how to fight. Later, Felix tells me that I'm a shadow lord cub, and starts to teach me, and I go to thank moon otter for a chance, but instead he tells me that I'm not and felix didn't have any right. And oh yeah, that I had some sort of 'transgression on the bawn', but I was told the farmhouse isn't the bawn. Yesterday, Felix came, and tried to even claim that /I/ had told him that I was a shadow lord cub, and that I had lied to /him/." he pauses a moment, "I honestly don't care anymore Kenneth. I don't want anything more to do with the shadow lords. Nor with thier methods of 'The means justify the ends', which includes using other garou, even sending them forward as a sacrafice just to make sure you don't get hurt. I'd rather take my chances being alone again, a ronin, then being a shadow lord."
Kenneth quirks his head just a touch, hearing the rustling going on in Salee's direction. "You're not a Ronin," he states quite firmly. "A Ronin is a Garou who disgraced himself in the eyes of the Nation enough that they forced his exile. A Ronin is a Garou who had their chance and failed. No, you're not Ronin. You're just a Lost Cub. You're not even 'found', as your name given suggests." Kenneth's arms fold over his chest. "And you have no idea what true banishment feels like."
Salee keeps her head down, and fights the urge to get up and leave. Being present for this conversation just doesn't feel right to her, though. It feels like she's intruding on something that should be private.
Matt tried to keep private, but he looks over to Salee a moment, "Well, here's your brave hero. In all my bloody glory." before he looks to Kenneth, "Okay then, I won't argue with you." before he goes to fetch one of the cookies Ruth brought.
Kenneth looks after Matt as the cub moves away. "So that's it?" he quips back at the cub, brows lifting. "Nothing more to say in your defense? Nothing more to add?" The spotlight turns upon Salee, and Kenneth's arms drop to his side as he moves towards her. His eyes settle on to the violin case. "How about you?" he asks of the girl.
The girl's head snaps up, eyes impossibly wide upon Kenneth. Salee shakes her head so slightly, there may have been no movement at all. She holds stark still at first, and then starts to tremble.
Matt just gives a shrug and says, not even looking to Kenneth, "What more is there? You've just insulted my family and dismissed my entire life. None of it's good enough for you, so I won't argue any more of it. You are a philodox, and a rited part of the nation, and I am a 'lost cub'. You are right and I am wrong, and right now? My shoulder hurts too much to want to start a fight."
"One of the Garou I knew best," Kenneth speaks as he continues to watch Salee tremble beneath him, "was a Lost Cub. He bounced from the Glass Walkers too, sought a tribe to take him in and none would have him because he was bitter and angry. In truth, his Rage drove him to do unspeakable acts." He speaks those words and then turns back to Matt. "He ate people." The philodox lets go of a breath, nostrils flaring. "But in the time before he was tainted, he did good things. He had good reasons, a path to direct that Rage. He and I Rited together. He never gave up his urges to prove himself. But most of all he didn't give a flying fuck who was in the right and who was in the wrong. He let actions speak, because you can't lie with actions. And it kind of sucks that you think I'm here to start a fight." Kenneth turns back to Salee, a finger crooking at the violin. "You play?"
Matt gives a shrug, and goes back to being a lupus, the wolf finding a bale of hay to lay on as he watches, tail curled around his side.
Salee turns a shade of green that rivals the colour of her eyes, one hand up to cover her mouth as she fights the urge to vomit. After a few moments and deep breaths, the colour (or perhaps lack thereof) returns to her face and she gives a small nod. "Y- Yes. I play." Her bony fingers unconciously stroke over the instrument almost lovingly.
Kenneth contemplates something a moment, and his head turns sharply back at the now-wolf. "I also wasn't insulting your family that I know nothing of, or dismissing your entire fucking life, although I'm inclined to ignore what few moments I've learned of it if it'll mean getting you to stop being emo right now." Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, lets it out in a sigh and gazes back on Salee. "What songs do you know?"
Found just sits silently, watching the other two, though he dosn't 'speak' with fur and tail. Instead, just keeping his golden eyes on them.
"Lots," Salee says quietly. "Mostly classics..." She swallows almost audibly and asks, somewhat against her better judgement, "Would you like me to play something?"
"Anything," Kenneth encourages with a light nod. "Do you know Brahms? Violin concerto in D major," he adds, even taking the moment to sing a few bars of it. His fingers move across the air in front of him like he were identifying piano keys, but then he pauses in the action, like he catches himself doing so. The fingers curl up into a fist that withdraws to his side.
Found just continues to watch, ears down.
Salee lifts the violin so carefully from its case and sets that aside. She then procures the bow and tucks the instrument between her shoulder and her chin. She picks up the tune where Kenneth leaves off, at first merely humming it to herself, but then the music from the violin joins it. Once she's sure of herself, she stops humming the tune and lets the violin hold its own. She could possibly perform professionally, if only for the passion she pours into her craft. Her technique may need work to a truly trained ear, but there is something to be said about the ability of one who truly loves their art.
Possibly attracted by the music, Kaz (a knapsack in hand) slips in the door, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the light.
Kenneth stands there to listen, fingers from his curled fist relaxing as the violin plays. His hand comes up, knuckles touching the philodox's lips as he watches, part of a silent audience. He barely even registers Kaz's entrance.
Found is laying on a hay bail near the back, the lupus...very 'closed' right now, his golden eyes just watching Kenneth and Salee.
Salee smiles to herself as she plays. Music truly does soothe the savage beast, does it? She seems more at ease than before. She doesn't register Kaz's entrance. In fact, she doesn't register much of anything. It's just her and the music as far as she's concerned.
Kaz crouches creakily, and then sits, up against a wall, listening intently-- but not lost in the music, yet.
Kenneth listens with a slow blinking of his eyes, and only towards the end of the song does he look from the girl and her violin towards the door and the wall where Kaz leans. The Shadow Lord turns from Salee and Matt then, affording the galliard a nod and lowering of his gaze for a split second during.
Found keeps his quiet, giving a look to the others, and not exactly a happy puppy sorta attitude.
By the time Kenneth acknowledges Kaz, Kaz's attention has shifted; she's not so much assessing technique, as letting the music flow through her. But she's not quite deep enough not to notice Kenneth, and she inclines her head to him, minutely.
When the song draws to a close, Salee's eyes finally open again. The expression is unmistakable; the girl seeks approval. When she finally catches sight of Kaz, she blushes with embarrassment over the fact that so engrossed was she, she missed the Gnawer's entrance. She inclines her body at the waist (being as how she would have to move her violin away to properly nod her head) in a sort of half-bow of respect to the Metis.
Kaz doesn't quite applaud, but she does thump her hands against the wooden wall. (Thud, thud!) "W'you on the orchestra track, or what? 'Cause you rock."
Found is still remaining quiet.
Kenneth likewise glances back as the song ends, his approval - if there is one - present only in the lack of disapproval. Back at Kaz, the Shadow Lord greets her more appropriately the next time. "Afternoon, Kaz. Assume you've met these two cubs?"
Salee smiles modestly. "I just like to play." She keeps her eyes on Kaz as she speaks, "There were only two things I was truly upset about having to leave behind. My mother and my violin." Having the violin back, she's clearly hopeful that it won't be long before she can be reunited with her mother and explain why she had to leave. Salee closes her eyes once more and begins to play again. Softly enough so as not to disrupt the conversation, however. This one isn't a classic in the, well, classical sense. Those who are fans may recognize "Because" of The Beatles' Abbey Road album.
Kaz mutters, "Wish I could play Beatles shit," and nods at Kenneth. "Yah, they're good kids. I mean--" She grins at Matt-- "Most of the time. Matt's kinda bouncin' around tribes, an' I don' think Salee's been claimed yet?"
Found just keeps quiet still. He's not adding comments.
"Well you might not believe it," Kenneth replies to Kaz, "but first I met her she said a guy named 'Jack Salem' brought her in. As in, I'm thinking, Grey." He makes another motion at the silent Found in agreement. "And that one's just about as lost." Salee's playing of the Beatles gets a small 'hm', before the philodox turns to look at the wolf on the bale.
Possibly peculiarly, Kaz brightens, nodding. "Yeah, he's goin' by Jack Salem again, and he's back. Ain't it /great/?"
Salee opens her eyes to shoot a meaningful glance at Matt when Kaz makes the assumption that the girl hasn't been claimed yet. But like the boy in Lupus form, she does not add any comments. The note of confusion again over Jack's identity is filed away.
Found keeps his quiet longer?
"Any reason why?" Kenneth is quick to ask of Kaz regarding Jack Salem, though his eyes remain on the silent wolf. It lingers only a few moments longer before he turns to the fostern Gnawer.
Kaz sounds vaguely embarrassed. "I didn't absorb exactly why. It amounted to 'it felt right,' though." She contemplates Salee, but doesn't interrupt her playing.
Found watches, and remains quiet, the lupus keeps his golden eyes on the pair of Kaz and Kenneth.
Salee looks over to Kaz again, but says nothing. She does offer the Gnawer a smile, though, before closing her eyes again. "Because" slips into "Here Comes the Sun" almost seamlessly.
Kaz mutters, "Ok, /that/, I can play," and rummages in her bag for her flute case. "Yo, kid, you mind some improv harmony?"
Kenneth nods slowly to the answer provided, one hand by his side wiping down his shirt. "Well, if he's back then maybe he'll see fit to join the rest of us philodox at our next moot. I'm not sure when that is save at the waning half -- that's what Felix said. If you see Salem, pass that bit on?"
Found keeps quiet more.
Salee seems surprised, the music faltering for a second. She gives Kaz an eager grin however, carefully bobbing her head in approval.
Kaz says, "Will do, boss," as she's putting the flute together. "Or Salee can tell him. Whichever. But I'll make sure he knows." That said, she dives into definite improv harmony. At first, she's just trying to make sure she's not interfering with Salee's playing, but very soon thereafter she's winding a harmony in and around what Salee's doing, syncretizing improvement.
Kenneth without further word then, nods to the two musicians to dismiss himself. There's one last glance at the wolf on the hay, and then the Shadow Lord turns to leave. At least he is significantly calmer than he had been when he entered.
Found just watches Kenneth leave, his golden eyes just watching, waiting on the shadow lord.
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