Confronting Danae
2/2/2009
01:30 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Half Moon phase (51% full).
It is currently 13:27 Pacific Time on Mon Feb 2 2009.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 48 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the southwest at 7 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.28 and falling, and the relative humidity is 51 percent. The dewpoint is 31 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius.)
Thunder Cave(#1410RA)
Once you enter this cave, you see it is much larger than you originally thought. From the small opening it widens and takes a sharp turn, providing a natural windbreak. Looking around, you see a spacious chamber, long ago carved from the limestone by running water. Quartz veins scintillate in the light. In the center of the room, a small fire burns, more for light than heat, as the room is quite well insulated. Looking up, you see the smoke drawn through small cracks and holes that allow for more than adequate ventilation. This cave used to be the home of Distant Thunder, a Shadow Lord Galliard, and some say that his spirit still lingers here, protecting this spot.
You can leave the cave by crawling out the cave entrance to the south that leads down to the clearing below. A passageway leads deeper into the cave. No one is sure how deep it goes.
Contents:
Danae
Obvious exits:
Clearing
Kenneth works on cleaning up within the cave, having tossed a few animal bones and tracked in needles into the firepit. A circle has been drawn around the pit as well, done so with ash and bits of rock and shale. The halfmoon's jacket is draped off to one side, unneeded in the insulation of the cave. A makeshift broom made of branch and vine causes the rhythmic sounds of sweeping.
The human with bloodlines of wolf known as kin enters the cave. Her ebony hair swaying about her features a bit as she takes stock of the cave. Her eyes moving over the cleaning and finally upon her elder. Danae cants her head for a moment and waits for notice, knowing her scent is already upon the air.
Kenneth slides the broom over a few more spots to ensure chasing out some spiders. The noise of the activity might cover the sound of the kin's entry, but her presence doesn't escape notice for long. "Well well well. The prodigal kin returns." He sets the broom aside, brushing his hands off.
Danae chews her lower lip and then looks at the cave's entrance. There is a long moment of indecision and finally she moves forwards a bit more. "Sort of." The two words leave her lips as she tries to read Kenneth's stance. She opens her lipst to say something more and then stops. A breath given before she cants her head.
Kenneth finishes wiping down his hands and moves over to collect his jacket - a move that brings him notably closer to the woman. In silence, he busies himself with slipping the jacket back around his shoulders.
Danae looks at him for moment and doesn't immediately move away. "I don't know what to do." Those words a sort of confession and another part a bid for help. She lets her lashes lower just a bit as the emerald hue flashes.
"You've been doing pretty damn well on your own, why stop now?" Kenneth replies with adjustments to his collar lapels. When he does turn to look upon her, there is an uninviting distance to his expression.
Danae sees the uninviting distance and shakes her head. "Right." The word is given softly. "I didn't mean to intrude on you. I can leave." She starts to turn her body to do just that.
Kenneth doesn't appear to be stopping her or moving to do so. He does fire back though with a sharp word. "Yes, you did. You meant to intrude here, otherwise you wouldn't be here. If you've something to say Danae, then say it. Stop leaving your silly little notes and running away. Or is that how they do it at City Hall?" He folds his arms over his chest in wait.
Danae can't seem to draw up the anger or the fire she normally does. She tries too. Then she turns and shrugs. "I just told you. I don't know what to do. Apparently, I'm not doing so well on my own." She moves to walk over towards the fire and finds a place to settle herself. "Are we okay?" She watches his form for a long moment.
Pack> Kenneth's vague tension over the link becomes distinctly formulated with annoyance once more. It's difficult to say though, whether this is formed from the influence of the half moon or not.
Kenneth snorts in his response, looking annoyed. His answer is terse. "No. /You/ are not 'okay'. /We/ are not 'okay'." He unfolds his arms to head back to the broom, picking it up and taking it a little further into the cave where it's kept.
Pack> Coriander's automatic response is to send her own, calmer feelings though the link. "You okay, Kenneth?"
Danae continues to sit where she is, but her eyes move to follow his actions. There is a growing tension in her body as she's prepared to flee if needed. "So how do I make me okay and more importantly, how do we make we okay?" She shuts her eyes then. "What do you want? You want me to leave the city?"
Pack> Kenneth says "It's Danae. She's here at the cave." That seems to be what explanation he supplies, except for, "She's asking me what she has to do to... patch things up."
Pack> Coriander pauses at that, a little irritation coming through the link from her end, too, "With you? How about not pulling you any deeper into this soap opera, for starters."
Kenneth drops the broom off. When he returns, the irritation has only smoothed on the very edges. "What are you talking about?" he asks, putting a lid on the simmering. "You wanted a say in the kid's future, well you have one. Quentin, too. And as far as I'm concerned, you take the responsibility of all your actions as I have mine. And you..." He pauses for another moment, then finishes, "stop pulling everyone deeper into this soap opera. You're going to have a child and you gotta job. Do what you need to do to get yourself under control."
Danae nods her head. "I have taken responsibility for my actions and I have not meant to draw anyone into the soap opera of my life." She speaks calmly and easily to the man. "I didn't mean to hurt you either." The words left to hang there between them.
Pack> Kenneth says "... She... I can't tell. Is she apologizing?"
Pack> Coriander says "Apologizing is good..."
Pack> Coriander says "A good way to tell is if the word 'sorry' came up at any time."
Pack> Kenneth gives a mental eyeing. "Now you're just being patronizing."
Pack> Coriander says "I'm not! I'm just saying... if you have to /ask/..."
Kenneth there looks disbelieving. His response stalls in the silence left between them. The halfmoon's eyes go round for a time before slipping back to their normal unaffected shape. "Then it should come as no shock when I tell you that I talked to Quentin. And we've an agreement between us. A new one, about the child's future." His gaze turns from her to the fire.
Danae looks down to her stomach and then towards her elder. The tension grows in that. "Well.. what is this new agreement?" She holds her breath as she waits for it.
Kenneth rakes a hand through his shortish hair. "Quite simple. When the time comes he decides whether he wants the kid or not. You can have your say then." Clipped and blunt, but sounding genuine in the simplicity, he turns from the fire back to Danae.
Danae blinks a few dozen times to that. "What?" Then she looks back towards the cave entrance again, her face starts to drain of color. "You mean when I have this kid, he's going to take it from me?"
Kenneth's brow wrinkles again. "Didn't you hear what I said? You'll have your say when it comes time to decide where the child goes next. And you're kind of /attached/ to this kid for the next several months, you know."
Danae nods her head to that. "Thank you." She finally relents. "It does not mean that I won't want for the child to .. it is really in Gaia's hands on what tribe my baby belongs to. I just wanted a say, Kenneth." She shakes her head. "We are so powerless in so many ways, that I don't want my child to be hurt by it as well. I just.. I want him or her to have as normal of a childhood that they can. If it breeds true, then there will be enough death and violence in its life after its firsting. If it is a kin, I want it clued but not until it's had a normal childhood."
Slowly the philodox's expression eases off, but not enough to tell of any total relaxation on his part. "Thunder's children earn their place. It's not their birthright," he says slowly. "That is why we know about respect better than any other. That is why we know about loyalty better than any other." What little ease he had tightens again when he turns to Danae and states with a firm look to her, "Which is why I have no fucking clue what the hell you were doing trying to /buy/ Quentin off of his elder."
Danae looks up to Kenneth. "I didn't really try to buy him. I tried to make a deal with her and we walked away without offense on either side. She wants me to lay low on the Park project which is going to take a hit to my career. I told her I would do that regardless. However, I asked *if* it was in her power to have her tribe marry. I said I was going to hurt if unmarried politically. I offered her my city resources if it was in her power to grant. She said as elder that she could do it, but as personal conviction would not. I thanked her for her information and then we talked more about the park project. You can ask Mouse. It was just me seeing if that was an option. You can't blame me for trying to make the means justify the ends, Kenneth. It was completely asked with business and politics in mind, not emotions."
Kenneth's eyes widen at her explanation. "You wanted to /force/ him to marry you because you had the /excellent/ common sense not to use birth control," Kenneth snaps back, "What's more important to you, a shotgun wedding or a Hollywood divorce? You had no right to go and ask that of his elder. And what about the Veil, Miss Hotshot Politician? Christ. Don't you have spin doctors for that sort of thing?"
Danae watches his reaction. "Kenneth, I'm pregnant and that causes a bit of a hormonal insanity the first trimester. As well as right after giving birth." She watches him for a long moment. "Mouse suggested I just forge records. I don't know. I'll spin it if it comes up. Maybe I can foster in a new age of something. If not, then I'll pick a soldier that died over seas and name him." She studies the man. "Look, I"m sorry. I don't always think first and get too wrapped up in.. the moment." She tries to give him a soft smile, tries. "I'm sorry."
Kenneth snarls aloud, "/Don't/ you use that pregnant bullshit on me. I am fucking /Teen Wolf/ that had to deal with not having a fucking dick for five years! What do you think I don't know about hormones and mood swings!" He bites back the rest as she continues explaining, shuddering in his attempt to get a grip. Her smile is not received well, considering his angered outrage.
Danae chews her lower lip a bit to that. She's trying to keep her voice calm in regards to his rage. Then she takes a breath. "I'm sorry. You are right. I shouldn't have said that." She watches him, as if curious if his rage will make him state things he would rather not. "I hurt you the last time we met. I saw it in your eyes and your mannerisms. What did I do to hurt you? I didn't think I had that sort of pull on you."
Pack> Kenneth's anger shoots up dramatically before it gets headed off. His will latches on to the proverbial chain holding the Beast and pulls hard to bring him back from the brink. After several seconds, the tension manages to ease ever so slightly.
Pack> Coriander says "Easy there, Tiger. I told you last time, walk away if it gets too frustrating for you."
Kenneth grits his teeth so tightly the line of his jaw twitches. Several seconds pass without any answer to her questioning, until finally he lifts his hand and rubs at his face, turning from her. "You /don't/," claims the philodox in a husky voice shadowed by his mental control. He then starts towards the entrance of the cave, perhaps to take in some of the crisper mountain air outside.
"I'm always angering you, even when I don't intend it." Danae muses softly, but she doesn't immediately move to follow. That lesson at least she has learned. "Would you like me to stop coming around you?" She keeps her voice steady and her eyes on the wall, so as not to give her own emotional indication.
Pack> Kenneth says "And run away from her every time? This is stupid. Why do I have to let her get to me?"
Pack> Coriander says "You don't /have/ to let her, but when she does... walking away is better than the alternative."
Kenneth stops at the entrance, taking in a few deep breaths. After the better half of the next minute, he turns back around to eye her. "You don't need me to tell you what to do, do you," he replies somewhat more evenly.
Danae still isn't looking at him. She instead looks at the fire. "Yes, Kenneth, I do."
"Bullshit," Kenneth growls aloud, still staring towards the woman. "You wouldn't jump off a bridge if I told you to." Though clear in sarcasm, it's not as biting as it sounds.
"No, but when it involves what you want or you need, I need you to tell me." Danae slowly comes to her feet to turn and look at him. Her eyes are pretty apathetic. "I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of having to work on assumptions because people won't talk to me. I asked you a question. Do you want me to stop coming around you?"
Kenneth cuts the air with a frustrated hand. "What does that even /mean/?" he counters back. "What, you want me to make some kind of ultimatum at you like I've got a restraining order? No approaching within fifty yards? Do you /want/ me to treat you like a creepy stalker, or do you want me to treat you like a competent kin who isn't going to shoot herself in the foot and then come running to me to fix it? I'm not going to cater to your Jerry Springer audition. This isn't about what /I/ want or need at all. This is you trying to make yourself feel better for getting knocked up, then sleeping with me and losing your man."
Danae takes a breath into her lungs. "No." The word hangs there as the silence stretches to awkward. "I want this baby, Kenneth. I *decided* to have this baby. I do not feel bad about it. You should see it on the monitor or hear it's heartbeat." Her hands splay against her abdomen to that and her eyes start to sparkle. "I am in love with this child and I don't even know it yet. So no, you may not throw my child in my face as a bad decision. It is the best decision I ever made, regardless of how hard it might be in the future." She takes a few steps towards him, but she keeps her posture submissive. "You can't make me feel better for anything *I* have done. Only *I* can make the decision on how I feel. Am I upset that I lost Quentin? Yes. However, if he is so quick to write me off and to alienate me from his life. Then the question rises if he was ever really involved with me in the first place. Should I have slept with you?" She stops to that and looks up at him. "Not when he was my mate. We both know that. You and I did wrong on that occassion, but we did it for some reason. It's a reason I don't completely understand and I'm scared to look at. I didn't sleep with you just because I could. I don't exactly know why and maybe it was a mistake. Or maybe it wasn't. I don't know that answer. I just know it happened. So tell me, without anger and without trying to hurt me or shove me away. Why did you sleep with me, honestly? Don't say it is because you are a sore loser and don't say it is because you could. I don't think they are the full answers."
Pack> Kenneth gets the feeling he's been backed up into a wall.
Pack> Coriander says "Kenneth? What's going on?"
Pack> Kenneth says "She asked me. She asked me why I slept with her."
Pack> Stacey seems vaguely annoyed.
Pack> Coriander says "Geezus. What more does she /want/ from you? You're letting her and Quentin sort out the baby thing and everything!"
Pack> Kenneth says "I don't know what she wants. She's more complex than Fantasia. And that's saying something."
Pack> Coriander says "You know you don't have to answer her, right? I mean... it just sounds like a trouble question to me."
"You've asked me that plenty," Kenneth answers, "And not once have you ever given /me/ any of your response to the same. Always with your 'I don't know whys'. You asked me to, that night, which means you knew why. Gaia be damned, I fell in that trap. Now I know better. And... I'll not make the same mistake again." He hunches his shoulders and turns to leave.
"KENNETH." Danae lifts her voice that one time. "This isn't some game. This is my life. You want me to be straight with you, then be straight with me. We're family. I slept with you because I.. because I.." She stops. It is as if its too painful for her to say it. "I slept with you because I like you. That is why. My blood tells me to like you. My mind tells me you'll kill me. I slept with you because I wanted to be with you. I wanted to be intimate with you. I wanted to feel your lips." She shakes her head. "I was emotionally attached in some way and manner. I won't say what because I don't know, but it wasn't completely .. sex. It was more. It's been more since you took off the rings around your neck and told me about Jarrod. Since I hurt when you close me out, and grow jealous that I'm not the one you share your thoughts with." She shakes her head and then will follow him out.
Pack> Kenneth registers, for the first time, fear and confusion. A lack of knowing how to react.
Pack> Coriander says "Kenneth? Keep me updated. I can help."
Pack> Stacey says "What's she doing? Fuck it, I should just come over there! Give her a piece of /my/ mind."
Kenneth freezes at the raised voice, hands at his sides curling into fists. His voice rasps, "You don't know me. You don't like me. You just... you need to stop. And I need... I need air." Swallowing down the rest with a shake of his head, he takes steps to continue out of the cave. His pace quicken a touch.
Danae nods her head to that. Unfortunately, air is the same as her exit. She moves to follow at a slower pace to allow him out first. "Let me know you." Four words and nothing more.
Pack> Kenneth is being followed. She's following me. Why is she following?
Windswept Clearing(#3150RJ)
You stand in a small, dusty clearing, high in the foothills east of St. Claire. At first glance, the clearing appears cold and dead, but further examination shows a subtle beauty. The rocks that litter the ground have been eroded by wind and rain into intriguing shapes. One looks like a wolf sleeping, another like an old man staring down the mountain side. A small pool, fed by a pure spring, lies clear and still. The rock-face to the north is limestone, studded with veins of quartz that refract the light when struck just right, sending rainbows throughout the clearing. You have rarely seen a more peaceful or pleasant spot.
To the west you see a faint path leading down the mountain. Looking to the north, you see a small cave up the side of the rock-face.
Contents:
Danae
Obvious exits:
Cave Foothills
Pack> Coriander says "I don't know. Why /is/ she following?"
Pack> Stacey seems more annoyed. You could just cross over.
Kenneth's pace is something of a scramble out of the cave as she continues to follow him. The small, pebble-like rocks around the mouth disperse down with a quiet rustle, and he's finally out. Once out, he skids down a few angled steps before turning to double check.
Danae comes out of the cavern just behind the man. She's not upset and she's not screaming at him. Her brows are lowered thoughtfully. She also isn't paying a lot of attention and thus hits the pebbles. Her own body struggling to keep upright as her hands instinctively shoot out to her sides.
Kenneth is just outside of Thunder Cave, and nearing the antithesis of Danae's composure up until she hits the pebbles. A little further down the small slope than she is, he's only just turned to watch her come out of the cave as well. Caught in a moment's indecision, he stands there staring.
A gray wolf with white markings comes trotting out of the trees as the pair make their way out of the cave. Pathwalker's posture is tense as she makes her wait straight for the Shadow Lord, letting out a chuff to let him know she's there.
Ah the fun of indecision and of a woman not really prepared for it. Danae also suffers the early fourth month lack of grace. So it is no surprise when her feet go from under her.
Kenneth doesn't even seem to notice the entry of the gray wolf until her chuff, which then truly breaks him from his stupor and he turns. "Stace..." he utters, not loudly but enough that the wolf's ears catch it. He takes a step towards the wolf, turning to look over when he hears the sound of the pebbles rolling along.
Pathwalker picks up her pace to head over to Kenneth, her ears perking at the sound of her name, but the sight of Danae falling causes a chuff of alarm. She then moves /past/ Kenneth to nose at the kin, checking to see if she's okay.
Danae acts as any human would. Her hands shoot out beneath her and she lands on them. There's a soft yelp from her lips as she feels her left wrist turn in an unhealthy manner. For a moment, she's silent as she checks for other breaks or sprains. As Pathwalker noses her, there is a tension. "I'm.. alive." The words offer as she feels the pain in her right ankle too.
Kenneth alas, doesn't react in time to stop the fall either. But he does notice it, and though the Gaian reaches his kin before he does the philodox doesn't move away. Rather, he starts back up the hill after Pathwalker. "How in the-- How is it you get yourself all the way here and then slip and fall on your way out?" he asks aloud, trudging up the slope back to the kin's side, assuming the spot across from the Child of Gaia ahroun.
Pathwalker flattens her ears at Kenneth's approach, her annoyance clearly readable, at least for the other Garou. Clumsy, she chuffs as she continues to sniff over the kin. This her? Tell her to be still. Order given, she places her paw lightly on Danae's abdomen, and it begins to glow with a warm, soothing light as she concentrates upon her gift of healing.
Danae doesn't understand the language of Garou. She watches the hand start to glow and looks terrified. "What are you doing?" The fear comes off of her like a heady scent. "Don't hurt the baby." The words given in her own panic as she looks towards Kenneth to translate.
Kenneth nods at Pathwalker in answer and coughs out a rough, "Just be still. Baby's going to be fine." He goes so far as to drop to a knee and moves to lay a hand on the kin's shoulder in a very mild restraint. He looks to the ahroun, watching the process with a clear sense of absolute trust.
Pathwalker doesn't pay Danae's panic any mind, growing still as she focuses, and the kin can feel her injuries heal, the pain ebbing in the process. There, she chuffs finally, removing her paw and waving her tail proudly, tongue lolling. Then, almost as an afterthought, she seems to remember she's annoyed and her ears splay.
Pack> Kenneth says "Is she alright?"
Danae seems to calm at Kenneth's words which speak of something of trust. She watches the ears and offers. "If I remember, that is the annoyed ear movement. I'm- I'm sorry, I'm not good at reading these."
Pack> Coriander says "What happened?"
Pack> Coriander seems suddenly alarmed.
Pack> Kenneth says "She fell. It's ok now. I think."
Pack> Pathwalker says "Should be fine."
Pack> Kenneth meanwhile tries not to get worked up on Cori's sudden sense of alarm.
Pack> Coriander seems to calm some at the reassurance. "She just fell?"
Pack> Kenneth says "Yeah. Yeah she just fell." But there's something else nagging at the philodox. "She said she liked me."
Pack> Coriander says "Well, what's not to like!"
Pack> Pathwalker more annoyed.
Kenneth remains there long enough at the woman's side, then he pulls away to stand. His read of the Gaian's posture makes it more obvious that he knows what she's getting at, but his translation to Danae is a small shrug. "This is Stacey," he instead informs the kin, "my pack alpha." He takes another step, this one to bring himself around to the ahroun's side. There's a lowered tilt of his head, and his tone affects a grateful, "Thanks," to the wolf.
Pack> Coriander seems confused and /curious/!
Pack> Kenneth says "I mean in /that/ way, Cori. She said- well she didn't say it, but she must have meant it that way."
Pack> Coriander says "...Oh. Well, tell her to make up her damn mind, then!"
Pathwalker bumps against Kenneth's leg affectionately as he reaches her side, then steps back to shift into her homid form. "And you must be Danae," says the blond 15-year-old once shifteed, her brow lifting. "Should be more careful."
Danae watches the wolf shift upwards. Her lips curving into an attempt at the friendly smile. "Yes, I'm Danae and you are Stace?" The name Kenneth used. One does not need to have pack chat to see Danae's thoughts. It says: Shit. She knows me, this can't be good.
Pack> Kenneth says "Why do I have to tell her anything? She keeps coming. She /wants/ me to tell her what to do. I don't even know what that means. Do you?"
Pack> Pathwalker says "You don't have to tell her anything."
Pack> Coriander says "Well... you don't have to tell her anything, no. I told you before it would be easier to just walk away. I just meant... in general. She needs to make up her mind. Can't have it both ways, that's what got her into this mess in the first place. And I resent this... the timing of it. If she wanted you, she shouldn't have gone after someone else. She shouldn't have let him challenge for her!"
It might seem a bit comical as Kenneth stands beside Stacey, the pair of them looking towards Danae, to note how the Shadow Lord acts slightly different and deferential to a young looking girl like the Gaian ahroun. "You two never met before, 'til now," recalls the halfmoon. Standing just a little bit down the slope that leads to Thunder Cave, the three of them are in plenty of view from the lining trees of the clearing.
Stacey reaches out a hand to help Danae up, her grip strong and confident. "Yes. Elder of the Children of Gaia and Alpha of Masquerade, our pack," she adds, glancing back towards Kenneth before she looks back to the kin, her stance next to the Shadow Lord turning somewhat protective. "How long have you been a kin? And known about us?"
Danae looks between Stacey and Kenneth. She takes the hand to find her feet, steadily beneath her. Then she pauses at the questions. "I have always been kin and I have always known about you. The .. upbringing was just different than most." She looks towards Kenneth, as her elder, to see if she's supposed to answer or not.
Kenneth doesn't give off any sort of cue otherwise. In fact, he's staring a little overlong at the kin like she'd grown something out of her neck. Once he realizes he's staring however, there's a blink to break him of it. Then he passes a look towards Stacey, shifting uncomfortably at her side.
Pack> Kenneth says "The only way this can get more awkward's if Cori were here now."
Pack> Coriander says "Don't worry, /Cori/ is staying far, far away."
"Apparently," says Stacey, a hint of dryness entering her tone. A hint of an apologetic glance is sent toward Kenneth before she looks to Danae. "This boy has about as much rage in him as we Ahrouns do. I feel it, you know, over our spiritual link. When he's frustrated, angry, annoyed... When he's close to losing control and tearing you to shreds. We try /hard/ to control ourselves, but sometimes we can't. You gotta be careful on the full moons. Or even just /bigger/ than half moons. What happens the time my packmates and I can't keep him calm enough to keep that control? Or if you upset another just as ragey who doesn't have the benefit of being as linked as we are?"
Danae looks between the two for a long moment. "I asked if he wanted me to leave." She shuts her eyes. "I understand the rage and I understand that I am especially not easy to deal with." Her eyes open to look at Stacey. Her voice soft and calm. "It does not mean that I do not have things that need to be discussed and that I need help to understand. I may have been aware of our tribe, but I was isolated by it as well. I'm still trying to learn and.. " She looks towards Kenneth and back. "I've come and asked him to show me how. I'm told to figure it out. Stacey, I'm trying but.." She shrugs and looks downwards a bit. "I'm sorry."
Kenneth straightens up at Danae's words. "Yeah? Well I'd like to know the name of whoever the hell raised you up 'cause I'll rip their fuckin' throat out for all the hell I've gotten ever since you got here," he snarls aloud, taking a step forward.
Pack> Stacey says "Ya don't gotta be so violent-sounding."
Pack> Coriander says "What's going on now?"
Pack> Kenneth says "I'm just trying to make it clear to her. She's been nothing but trouble since she came. I'm starting to wonder if the sept she came from doesn't need some ass kicking."
Stacey reaches out for Kenneth's arm, to stall him as he steps forward, frowning as she eyes him. "If you understand both those things... There is /no/ shame in waiting for a better time to talk. To leaving and revisiting when folks are calmer. Or even getting a mediator. A dead kin is of no use to us, and I care too much for this Philodox to see him kill a pregnant woman. You get where I'm going? Maybe you need to find a new way to ask your questions or to figure out what you're still shaky on."
Danae sighs as she looks at both of them. "I'll go." She steps back to do just that. Her eyes dropping from them both.
Kenneth clenches his teeth, stalled on the advance. He looks back at Stacey, for a moment torn, then shakes his head again. "You aren't going to make it back before it gets too dark," he growls aloud at Danae.
Stacey lifts a brow. "I meant more the incident at Edgewood than just now." She returns that look from Kenneth, then adds, "He's right. You should either stay or... at the very least be escorted." A brief glance goes over the cave entrance before she quickly looks away, her face a touch paler.
Danae looks over at Kenneth and her eyes soften just a bit towards him. Then she shakes her head a bit to clear it, her lashes falling to her cheeks. "You're right." She turns to come back to her original position. "Edgewood was.." She looks down. "You are right, Stacey. I should think more before I open my mouth."
Averting his gaze briefly aside at mention of Edgewood, Kenneth tenses and takes a moment to relax back to his original state. He doesn't insert his opinion, although he does look towards Danae to see what she decides.
Pack> Stacey says "I'll stay, too... If you help me."
Stacey gives the cave another awkward glance, then looks back to the kin, then Kenneth. "I suppose we should... Figure out arrangements, then. Unless we're walking her back. I guess we can't just stay right here."
Pack> Kenneth says "I wouldn't leave. She doesn't know about the cavern."
Pack> Stacey says "Oh. So I guess we'll have to stay in that smaller part..."
Pack> Coriander says "...She's staying there?"
Pack> Stacey says "Kenneth says it's too late for her to walk home."
Pack> Kenneth says "It's... too late to walk her back. It'd be dark by the time we get anywhere near her car if it's parked out here. And she's with child."
Pack> Kenneth adds in afterthought, "And surprisingly clumsy." There it is, laced with suspicion.
Pack> Coriander says "That doesn't make her an invalid, Kenneth."
Danae lifts a brow, "I've stayed at the cave before." Danae pauses and then turns white, "I meant other than..I.." She chews her lower lip and then cusses under her breath. She actually kicks the closest rock. "Damnit." Her eyes look at Kenneth. "Damn.." She stops before saying you, but it is there unvocalized. Then she turns her head towards Stacey and shakes it. "I'm sorry. I just.." She shakes her head. "I'm sorry for all of this. I'm sorry for everything." She looks at Kenneth, the sincerity is hard to miss. "I'm sorry for putting you through this."
Kenneth passes another glance between them, eyes shifting back to Danae for the cursing and apologies. He looks skywards then, almost plaintively. "If we double time it, we can make it back an hour or so after sundown." He glances back to the pair, then steps back to make the shift through his forms.
Pack> Kenneth says "Cori makes her point. I don't want her tonight. Or... or any other night."
Pack> Stacey says "You get the sense that Stacey is eyeing you."
Pack> Coriander says "The clumsy excuse can be used when she's eight months along and can't see her feet anymore."
Pack> Far-Cry feels uncomfortable enough. I don't trust myself around her. Not tonight. Please, Peacemaker.
Pack> Coriander says "Stace, come on."
Pack> Stacey says "I'm sorry. I won't give ya a hard time..."
Stacey actually looks relieved as Kenneth makes his decision, smiling. "Alright. I'll come along, too," she offers, reaching out to ruffle Kenneth's fur before she starts to walk, taking up a spot next to Danae. "What's in the past is in the past," she notes. "What matters now is your future actions."
Danae looks at Stacey for a moment. "Sometimes our pasts are so entangled in our future that they repeat." She looks towards Kenneth and lowers her voice to Stacey.
Stacey pages: Since you're in lupus: Danae whispers "I never meant to hurt him."
Far-Cry quirks a lupine ear in the kin's direction, giving her a low whuff and a stare. After a few sniffs, he points his muzzle in the direction they should travel. Irritation forms in the wolf's impatient gait and he roams ahead by a few feet.
Pack> Far-Cry evidently tries very hard not to appear bothered by the kin's whispered comment. Noticeably trying.
Stacey frowns as she walks along. "That doesn't matter. What matter is what was done. Then, you learn from it, grow from it, and move on. I don't buy that the past must be repeated. I've seen others break free from it or overcome it. Plenty of others."
Danae looks towards Kenneth and moves where his snout indicates. She frowns more than a little at the ground. "I'm um.. in my fourth month of pregnancy. I .. um.. " She looks between them. "I can get dizzy." She gives a low apologetic smile.
Far-Cry's response is a growl and a flick of his tail.
You paged Stacey with 'I don't believe that. She walked all the way here didn't she?'.
Stacey gives Danae an odd look, then shrugs and continues walking along after Far-Cry. The Child doesn't have much to say at the moment, apparently.
Danae looks between the two and mutters something under her breath about pack links. However, she falls silent and dutifully walks with them.
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