The Shadow Lord is sitting on a distant pew, reading an old moldering hymnal with a faint frown as he struggles to make out the words that are fading with moisture and age.

Yi opens the door with a quiet hum on between her lips, planning on a short rest after her patrols before going back to the apartment. Habitually, she scans the room first, and finds the Shadow Lord amongst the darkness. Though in the dim light, she can't quite make out who it is. "Yo?"

Jarred says "Jarred..." the voice mumbles. "Is that you, Yi?"

Yi heads down the center aisle to the pew, and gazes at the Shadow Lord, a wan smile over her features in the dim light of the church windows. "It's me, long time no see Jarred. What brings you to the church at this time of the night?"

Jarred says "Rotem." The Shadow Lord turns and brings a leg up against his chest as he sits. "It's good to see you, Yi. It's been a tough few weeks... but I'm here to talk about Rotem."The Shadow Lord sighs. "It's about Rotem, actually.. and it's good to see you too, Yi. The last few weeks have been pretty rough for me..."

Yi nods, though arches an eyebrow when the Shadow Lord mentions the cub whose name has become synonymous to the chaos he brings. "What about him?"

Jarred rubs his forehead. "He's going to be staying with me for a while, if that's ok. It'll keep him out from under your feet here. The kid's scared to death. It's no wonder he's so wound up all the time. He told me that 'they're going to kill him'. He knows what being culled is, and he's convinced that he's not long for this earth. He came to me desperate."

Yi furrows her brow some. "He went to you, for help. In what? Saving his life?" There's a brief moment's flash of indignant anger as the nomoon looks away towards the dais. "I already killed him, once. What'd he tell you?"

Jarred says "He came to me because he trusts me. Don't ask me why. He only told me that you'd given him one last chance to keep from being killed. This shouldn't make you angry, Yi. I know the kid's pissed you off, and others.... but look at itfrom the outside. It's obvious he has an inordinately strong rage deep within. In a lot of ways, he's a quintessential garou. Wild, untamed, fierce. That has all the makings of a heroic warrior, if he's allowed to express himself and mellow out a little. Being cooped up in that church has only made matters worse. Kid's a barrel of energy waiting to get loose."

"And you are going to help him, how?" Yi turns her gaze, calmer now, to the Shadow Lord. "Yes, he is wild, untamed, and fierce. And because of that, he's likely to get either killed, culled, or do something worse than that. But, it doesn't do much for /my/ tribe's reputation to have a cub running off to a Shadow Lord for etiquette lessons. Others have already said we were soft in letting him live. In these days we need every claw we can find. I've forgiven him for most of what he's done, Jarred. It's his own problem that he can't hold his tongue."

Jarred's dark eyes fix on Yi at her contemptuous comment. "The last thing I'd want to do, of course, is /sully/ your Tribe's reputation by associating it with mine. God knows it's hard enough for the Bone Gnawers without Shadow Lord scum butting in." The Galliard's words drip with bitterness. "Be that as it may, he has come to me for help. If I can help him, I will. If not, then you're free to rip his bloody heart out, if that's what you want to call a wise course."

Yi then realizes her words, and sticks some proverbial foot in her mouth. "I.. didn't mean it like that," she sighs. Flopping into a pew, she lays her head down on the back while looking at Jarred. "We tried, Jarred. I tried. Kaz had some faith he was beginning to turn around, and then he did something and pissed everyone off again." There's a tired drop of her eyes. "I just got him started on a lighting project for the sewers, and he's really taken it up with passion. Nevada told me he'll try and straighten the cub out too." Her eyes look back up at him. "I don't know how others will take it, is all. I'll tell them he's gone to live with you. I trust you to give him some of your charm at least," she says with a small chuckle. Raising her head from the pew back, she leans with arms crossed on it, and looks at Jarred. "If he drives /you/ crazy though, then what are you gonna do?"

Jarred says "Believe it or not, Yi, I'm a patient man. I've outlasted a lot of hatred in this sept, and the boy has already started relaxing a little. I assured him he was safe. In my territory, he won't be harmed. I can't say whether he'll drive me crazy or not. But I'll tell you this. At no time would it occur to me to slaughter him because I find him annoying. That's the difference between me and a lot of other garou."

Yi nods slowly. "I know it, Jarred. You are one of the few Shadow Lords I can trust. I've no qualms about letting him live with you. He's picked a good man to get some charisma from." A quirk of the lips in a smile. "Not to mention he'll have a television, and whatever else you have in that apartment of yours. I have to warn you though, he eats /a lot/. Growing cubs are like that." She chuckles, and sits back up some. "We kept Bernie in Signe's apartment when she first changed, and let her out in a week." She turns her gaze up to the rafters momentarily. "Let's hope he'll turn out well enough to pass his rite of passage." Ah, ever optimistic Yi. "If anything, maybe we'll hand him over to you. I haven't seen many of your tribe around." She considers. "In fact, I haven't seen any of them at all. Who else is in your tribe anyway?"

Jarred smirks at that. "How do you think, popular, handsome Jarred became the Shadow Lord tribal elder in this sept? There is only me, Piotr, Quick and Cutter. I'm the only one worthy of leading the tribe at this point."

Yi looks blank at the unfamiliar names. "Cutter I've heard of. Long time ago, when Elan-rhya told me to go ask him to accompany me and Jay into the sewers." She pauses. "So anyway. What are your tactics, for helping him out?"

Jarred shrugs. "I think he needs a mentor. You should have seem him when he brought his lighting project to my place. His face was brighter than the diodes he was using. What made him so excited was the thought of restoring the confidence of his tribemates, and getting to participate in the fight in even the smallest degree. As for a strategy, I'll talk to him, spar with him, listen to his dumbass ideas just like he's forced to listen to my dumbass ideas. Also, I think that him having someone with some resources who can help him out when the cards are stacked against him will make a big difference... I dunno, Yi. I just wanna try.

Yi chuckles. "And what would be your 'dumbass' ideas? Nevada and I haven't seen you in a long while, Lord of Shadows. Where'd you run off to?"

The right door of the church swings open, although no form is seen entering, the door just hangs open.

Yi glances at the church door, and sits up some more to look at who is coming through the door. Seeing no one, she looks around the church first for lupus types.

Rotem comes into the church after a long pause, carrying two of his lighting contraptions under each arm. They are back to back, and duct taped together. He carries them into the church and moves towards the two. "Heya, don't mind me, just m-making a delivery." He continues on right past them and down towards the basement.

"Rotem, wait.." Yi stands up from the pew, nodding to Jarred to hold their talk a moment before approaching the cub. "Heard you found a new place to stay," she says conversationally.

Jarred looks to the cub with a friendly smile.

Rotem stops, turning around to look back at Yi. "Yeah. Jarred is letting me crash at his place." Rotem smiles softly, "He bought me lobster." Well, at least Rotem knows what is important. Food. "I hope it is okay."

Jarred shrugs and smirks. Strategy indeed. Bribery.

"It's fine, with me," Yi replies, offering an hand to take one of the lights off the cub's burden. "You didn't check back with Elan-rhya about this, but he's hardly around. I'll let him and the others know." She pauses a bit. "But you behave yourself at Jarred's place, yeah? Don't need the wrath of the Shadow Lords falling on us like thunder." She looks back to Jarred with a small smirk. "And don't go taking advantage of his good nature either."

Rotem doesn't give up his lighting fixtures, holding them tightly. He seems almost protective of them. "I got it." he says, and turns to walk down to the basement.

Yi shrugs and turns from the cub. Not like those fixtures are going break or anything... "So that's it, then," she says, slipping back into her original pew. She looks thoughtful some more.

Jarred says "After Hanford, I stayed alone in the hills for a while. I'm going back there. Soon."

Rotem returns after a few minutes, without the lighting fixtures, looking back towards the two, just catching Jarred's comment. "Y... you're leaving?" he stammers, his expression one of shock.

"How soon?" Yi asks him. "That place is full of banes. Who will you get to go with you? Not going to do it alone...right?" She eyes the Shadow Lord. As if such an idea might become of him.

Rotem announces, without waiting, or much thinking for that matter, "I'm going with him."

Jarred turns to Rotem. "Not for good. But I have to return to Hanford to fight." Looking over to Yi, the Shadow Lord shrugs. "It wasn't enough that the sept be destroyed.. that the caern be obliterated. The banes had to infest the ground and corrupt it. My mother died in vain, and her resting place has been tainted beyond repair. I have to avenge her."

Rotem crosses his arms, "I'm gonna go fight then too." he leans against the edge of the pew, looking to them.

"Understandable. If you want Avalon's help, I can put the idea to Sepdet. We're going totem questing soon, and then we'll be a proper pack." Yi smiles a bit in thought. Then, she glances to Rotem, and looks back to Jarred. Let's see how our Shadow Lord handles this.

Jarred takes up the challenge, looking briefly at Yi. "We'll talk about it."

Rotem nods and sits down, "Okay." He looks to Yi, rather surprised she didn't object.

Yi gives a small nod and settles down into the pew. "You're going to live with Jarred, so you're gonna listen to him, not me. Or, so it seems anyway," Yi replies to Rotem's brief surprise.

Jarred stands slowly. "Well.. I suppose I need to get back home. I'm filing my taxes..."

Rotem smiles softly, "Oh, sure, now I get it." Rotem smirks sarcastically. "I'm a dependant. He wants a tax cut."

Yi nods again, standing up as well. "And I have to go see Little Bear about the pack. See you two later, na," Yi glides around the pew towards the door.

Elan steps through the old double doors, closing them behind him. Elan has arrived.

Elan walks in the doors, twirling a yoyo at the end of a string, whistling a quick tune.

Yi nearly runs into Elan on her way out. "Elan..-rhya." She glances from elder to cub behind.

Jarred nods politely to the Gnawer Elder.

Rotem smiles softly. "Heya Elan-Rhya, Where you been hiding?" Rotem asks, smirking.

Well. Since the Elder's here and all... "Elan-rhya," Yi starts. "Rotem, wants to go live with Jarred here, for a short while. That ok?" She carefully manuevers to let the elder through, and plots her swift exit. Or at least, hovering around fly-ishly.

Elan blinks and the yoyo stops. "Um. What the fuck for?"

Jarred steps forward. "Two reasons, Elan-Rhya. First, to get him out from under your feet. Second, to save his life."

Rotem gulps, and looks away. "Umm, I think now would be a good time to go test my lights." Rotem mumbles, moving off towards the basement, rather quickly.

Elan leans back and clicks the door closed as well. "Save his life? What from?" He eyes Jarred top to bottom, then the cub. The youth frowns a bit and winds the yoyo up.

Yi looks from elder to Lord, to cub, then moves to stand around the doorway. She'll let the Shadow Lord do the talking...

Rotem disappears down towards the basement, the door closing behind him.

Jarred sighs and sits down in a nearby pew. "I want to help him. His rage is strong and pentiful.. that much is clear. He's nearly been culled already, and I am aware that he is on thin ice. He came to me, desperate. He was petrified that he was going to be killed. I think that I can help him by providing a place for him that is not *this* place. He's been cooped up here, wound tighter than I've ever seen a garou. If left alone here, I have no doubt that he'll annoy someone enough to lose his life over it. It's already happened once. I happen to have plenty of space, and I'm confident that I can influence the boy in a positive way. He just needs time to settle down and grow up a little."

Elan just shakes his head before the Shadow Lord is halfway through, though he stays silent until the end. "Fuck no, and I don't want to taste your scent around here until the next full moon. You want to let him blow off some steam, then he can blow it off here, where we can watch him. But he is Gnawer and will be trained by Gnawers until we're sure he will be Gnawer." He unwinds the yoyo and knots the string around one hand, then reverses the process. "His death will be at our hands, as well, if he does not learn to behave himself and learn what it is to be garou and, more importantly, Bone Gnawer. Normally a cub by now would have earned the right to go to the farmhouse. Not him. He defies his trainers and refuses his lessons. His attitude has almost caused his death three times now, and it would BE his death if we sent him there; few of us have enough of our inner fire to be truly dangerous to him; there are more than enough there, and of sufficient rank, that if they were to punish him I would have little choice in the matter. If he continues as he has, we're saving his life by /keeping/ him here."

Elan says "If he wants to blow off steam and get fighting practice at the same time, fuck, I'll let Signe toss him in her basement."

Jarred stands again. "He's not looking for fighting practice, Elan. He's straining at his chains. And I resent the implication that it would be fine to send him to a Get, but not a Shadow Lord."

Yi listens to her elder's words, glancing at the yoyo and then up at Jarred as the two square off opinions. "He's young, rhya. And foolish, yes. But maybe... sending him to Jarred's place will let the rest of us cool off our opinions about him first. He /is/ trying hard to regain our favor."

Elan spits on the floor, then looks at Yi. "Trying hard /how/?" He looks back at Jarred. "And no, but mostly the reason why not is that if he fails with someone else at the this point, he will die. We cannot risk him on the streets, like he is."

The Shadow Lord is very matter-of-fact. "He won't die if he's with me. I guarantee it."

"Kaz let him out," Yi interjects quietly. "And he has made contribution to the problem about the sewers by building lights for us."

A rumbling from the basement, then footsteps as Rotem comes back up, carrying one of his babies. He cradles the wood and duct tape monstrosity in his arms, three 'lightbulbs' protruding from it. Each one is a bi polar LED array with 96 leds in it. At the moment, however, it is not lit.

Elan looks slowly to Yi. "I see. Well, then. If she feels he's ready to wander, then wander he will." He looks to Jarred. "You can have him for a short time, then, if she has given him some freedoms." The young man still looks very stern, then blinks and almost smiles. "And we'll see how you do with him."

Jarred simply nods once, glancing over to Rotem.

Elan spits once more on the floor before turning to the doors. "You may come to this turf, Jarred. And by the way, I /pack/ with a Shadow Lord. So."

Jarred blinks. "You do?"

Rotem sees Elan heading for the doors and calls out. "Elan, Rhya, please, wait up. I have something to show you."

Yi remains silent, though she nods to Elan's decision. Phew. Thanks Kaz...

Elan says, simply, 'Cutter' to Jarred, then looks to the contraption that Rotem has cobbled together. He blinks, and actually looks impressed for a second. "OK, so what's it for?"

Rotem fishes out several nine volt batteries from his pocket, then walks over towards Elan. "Lighting up the sewers. Here, hold this." he hands Elan the device, and starts attaching the batteries, Three in all. After two are firmly fixed, Rotem continues speaking, "It is built with bipolar arrays of LED's. You see they are low power, twice as bright as a light bulb, and t-they wont break." He attaches the last battery, and the LED's all turn on. A 360 degree flood of light fills the room. Each one about as powerful as a car's high beams.

Jarred squints.

Yi narrows her eyes and look off, the lights really getting to her after a few moments.

Elan squints as well and considers. "It depends on how much power it will take to take it to the Umbra. And if it will even work there."

"Sepdet and I were talking about mirrors, Elan-rhya," Yi adds while lifting a hand to shade her eyes. "Maybe placing mirrors in some places, to invite the sun spirits to have a look into the sewers. It's a shot in the dark, but maybe it might work." No pun intended. Really.

Elan says "Go on."

Rotem shrugs, and disconnects it. "it can run off of twenty four volts dc. Maybe a little less. So not much power is n-needed. I thought it through. Y'see. I couldn't use l-light bulbs. The banes would break those. So I thought about a photoelectric cell. But t-t-those take too much power, and t-take too long to warm up. I c-considered cumbustables, b-but those are too unpredictable. And don't last. This b-baby will light up for ten /years/ before you n-need to change a bulb."

Elan folds his arms. "And how did you find this?"

Rotem puts the wooden plank down on the nearest pew while speaking, "I bought them. Got contributions f-from all sorts of people. Jarred here gave a big ch-chunk to me."

Yi glances over to Jarred, and then back to cub and elder. So that's where it came from.

Elan nods at this. "I see. Well. I have to run apatrol now.. but we'll see what the lights do in the Shadow. That will be the real test. But you do see to have done well."

Rotem smiles at this. "Thanks Elan-Rhya." Rotem looks to Yi with a 'did you hear that?' expression, then back to Elan, "I have fifteen of them built. You can take this one if you like. Oh, and It g-gets better."

Rotem continues, "They can run off of AC as well. So if there is a land l-line in the sewer that I can tap into, we can have them on always."

Yi tips her head in acknowledgement to hearing the compliment, and nods to Jarred, a brief, silent smile fleeting over her features. "Right... well I'm supposed to be with my pack. So I'll see you guys too."

Jarred sits back down, picking up an old moldering hymnal and straining to read the fading print.

Yi gives a short salute, adding a "You guys behave now," with a smirk, and opens up the door to head out.

You pull open one of the two doors and walk down the stone steps to the street.

Jermantown Avenue, Industrial Sector
From warehouses a few blocks away from the river, across a chunk of city more than a dozen blocks wide, factories brood over the streets like dark dragons over their piles of treasure, greedy and all-encompassing. Huddling around the factories are smaller, less imposing buildings that are probably warehouses, or storage locations for trucks. The factories spill fumes into the air, darkening the area and blanketing it in a stench to mark humankind's domination over the world. Some of the warehouses stand empty, some are boarded over, and some, on the northern and western fringes of the area, have been converted to bars, with bizarre lighting, frequent brawls, and music that blares loudly at all hours of the night. There are no residences here for anyone to complain, and the factory workers populate the bars thickly. Throughout the area, trash and oil mingle together on alleyway streets, impeding the paths to the dumpsters at the ends of many of the alleys.
Contents:
Sepdet
Julie
SCPD Patrol Car
Truck
Obvious exits:
Filthy Alley Forgotten Church East West

Sepdet says in a low voice, "Planning a big do soon to light up the downbelow, a few nights from now, to drive out some of the ick that lives down there. Elan 'n Yi 'n Kaz 'n I talked about it. Don't know what's been prepared. We need lights, mirrors, and a fair number of bodies to put them in place, help with the summoning, and beat back anything that tries to eat us."

Julie nods. "We've got a body 'r two workin' on some things for just that. Hopin' t' be a part o' it, m'self."

The church doors open to allow a Yi out, intending to head for the lake before she pauses at sight of Sepdet and Julie right there. "Yo," she greets a little startled, but is quickly over it.

Sepdet gives Julie a relieved smile. "Your help will be welcome down there. I heard good things by you from old Two-Shoes."

Julie glances up, shifting on her lounge on one of the steps to make room for Yi. "Hiya."

Yi arches a brow. "Who's Two-Shoes?" She takes Julie's gracious offer of space.

Sepdet slides down the stone banister to nudge Yi's shoulder with a toe. Some wolf habits translate oddly to human shape. "Heya, packmate." There's a warmth in her eyes, if not her usually sober manner. She glances over at Julie. "Two Shoes. /The/ Dante. Some folks called him Angelo, last few years. Bone Gnawer no-moon with a major talent for insulting, annoying, and otherwise pricking the pride of a certain Strider theurge. He was an honorable fellow though. Started here before I did, helped a lot of people before he went down fighting crooks."

Julie blinks, surprised, and there's a bit of blush on her cheeks, if one can see it through the grime. "Thanks." She regards Yi a moment, listening to Sep. A quick look away, since it still hurts her a bit to think about it. Not as much as it used to, though. Time does heal, eventually.

Sepdet makes a soft understanding sound in the back of her throat, a voiced sigh.

Yi nods slowly, taking mental note of Julie's look away before looking back up towards Sepdet. "Heya," she replies. "Any news I should know, that would bring you away from the buffalo?"

Sepdet pulls back from silence with a soft laugh. "The sewers, Yi. If I'm going to have a Rite in a few nights, I need to see what resources you all have cooked up for me."

Yi's mouth forms a small 'oh'. "Well, Rotem has a few lights. They're .. really bright. I'm not sure they'll work in the Umbra if you want them, though."

Julie thumbs back over her shoulder churchward. "So, he finished them things up? I bet they wou'd, all they'd need is t' be dedicated 'r somethin', so's they cou'd go through the gauntlet, right?"

Sepdet shakes her head. "No, that's all right, what I have in mind is..." she glances towards the street. "Probably something I should be talking about where there aren't so many damned mirrors." She grins and scoots for the doors.

Yi glances between the two, and then shrugs and heads back into the church. "Come with?" she invites Julie.

Julie blinks, a bit confused by what Sepdet means, then it dawns, and she 'oho!'s silently and gets to her feet to follow. "Sure."

You climb the seven stairs, noting the huge bannisters, and push on the splintered double doors. They creak open a little, and you step into the echoing draftiness of the old church.

Forgotten Church(#1801RAJLM)
Contents:
Sepdet
Mural
Obvious exits:
Street Basement

You quietly close the doors behind you.

Following after her packmate, Yi opens the door and holds it for Julie, closing them after. "The lights should be in the basement."

Julie strolls on in, getting out of Yi's way of closing the doors. "Saw them, only he wasn't finished with them, so's I dunno how they work, m'self."

Sepdet gives Yi and Julie a thin apologetic smile. "Car mirrors are always a problem for me. Let's have a look, eh? The thing is, I don't really need many lights in the umbra." She starts heading for the stairs to the basement. "That's what the spirit summoning is for."

Yi nods, and proceeds downstairs.

You go down to the basement.

Forgotten Church Basement(#1279RJLM)
This basement is only partly below ground level, and there are windows evenly spaced on the walls, right below the ceiling level. The main part of it is a large open area with a small kitchen in one corner and a large, ratty carpet in the center, covering the cement floor. There is a rather large window in the kitchen; it looks as though it might actually open onto the street. On the wall opposite the kitchen is a large bin, and there are folding tables along the wall perpendicular to it. On the other wall there are a few folding chairs, many fewer than one would expect from the number of tables.
A hallway next to the kitchen leads off to two offices and what once might have been a classroom.
Obvious exits:
Sanctuary

Julie murmurs as they file down, "Well, the more lights, the better, inna sewers, then."

Sepdet moves a little stiffly as they reach the enclosed area, padding delicately around the basement like a cat just home from the vet. "Exactly. My idea is this. Spirits react to what's in the realm. So, what we need to do is bring /lots/ of lights down to the sewers, and keep replacing them when and if banes or humans remove them. We'll be making a sort of ideal environment for electricity spirits to grow and thrive, so they'll be more willing to stay in the area. "

Heading over to the light that was left, Yi stoops down. A wooden plank for a base, the light consists of three hammered lightbulb sockets. Mostly taken from lamps and other various light fixtures, these connect together and are wired together. Wrapped with duct tape and electrical tape to hold it together and keep out water, the thing sports 96 tiny LED bulbs, powered by three 9 volt batteries for now. A cylindrical plastic cover sheathes the set of bulbs. "Ok, I think this is what he did..." She picks up a couple of the wires, and carefully hooks it up. Suddenly, the basement is flooded with bright light like a car's high beams, angled 360 degrees by the array. She squints, but keeps the wires on the batteries.

Sepdet swears in Egyptian and flings her hands over her eyes as the room is flooded with blinding light from Rotem's experiment. "Yow. Well /that/ ought to do something."

Julie lifts an arm up and covers her eyes with it, too. "Dayumn. If'n it don't, then we're screwed."

Yi unhooks the lights, and blinks a few times, waiting for her eyes to readjust. "Amazing what technology can do," she murmurs. "So. He said he would have 15 of these, eventually. And they're supposed to last for 10 years."

Long distance to the room: Yi shows off Lighting Unit #1 a la Vanna White.

This lighting unit is made out of a plank of wood with three lighting fixtures in it. One is from the reminants of a desc lamp, and the others appear to have once been part of a large chandalier. In each socket is an array of nintey six Light Emmiting Diodes. For a total of two hundred and eighty eight diodes, giving off as much light as a car with its high beams on. The light is given off in a full 360 degree radius.

Sepdet keeps her hands over her eyes. "Good Gaia. Yes, that is exactly what we need. I think the electricity spirits will like them very much."

From upstairs Owen can be heard, "Jesus Christ, is there a fire?"

"Just some light," Yi replies, standing up in the now dim basement. She rubs her eyes a moment, then glances towards the stairway.

Julie rubs at her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Well, if'n they don't make the spirits have happy thoughts, ain't nothin' gonna." She glances, blinking, at the stairs. "Yo, Ow'n, c'mon down!"

"Should've put a sign up about no flash photography," Yi mutters, still blinking out some colored spots. "15 of these will go awhile, I think. At least around the Park." She glances to Sepdet, whose form she can make out after the spots stop swimming. Then, the Canto-gnawer heads for the kitchenette. "Sandwich, anyone?"

Sepdet opens her fingers a smidge, and then finally dares to brave the visible world again. She shakes her head a few times to clear it. "Thanks, no, Yi." She clears her throat. "My other thought was how to coax Helios spirits down into a place they wouldn't normally go. Yi had an idea. Mirrors. So if you could tell the cubs with nothing better to between now and Thursday to gather mirrors...borrow 'em from cars, junkyards, whatever...then some of you folks who are handy can try positioning them to reflect sunlight from the sidewalk grates down underground, and along the pipes. Helios might like being given a way to reach places he usually can't."

Julie nods rather excitedly. "Yeah, hey, I can do that for you. Scroungin's what I do. I'm sure I can get lotsa folks t' help me." Lots meaning Max, Kaz, and a couple other street rats.

Owen makes his way down the stairs and gives the room a look over. "Holy... Since when have Gnawers been doing science experiments?"

Sepdet's eyes twinkle. "Thought that might be up your alley. So to speak." She adds the precaution, "Mind any cubs you rope in don't do /too/ much vandalism, though, or the cops will start looking for the car-mirror-bandits. Don't want humans noticing what we're doing, messing with our set-up down there. I'm assuming work crews haven't been down there much, in the last year, since they'd get eat."

Yi finishes sandwich making, and has one bite before replying, "It was random babbling, Sepdet-rhya. Would a sun spirit want to go in the sewers? And mirrors... probably have some way to get them without stealing them from the cars around. Junkyard probably has some."

Julie nods. "I'll keep them outta trouble. Prolly hit the junk yard, an' places like that. B'sides, I'm sure we can find house mirrors an' stuff thrown out, too. That way we're not lookin' so obvious. Plus, house mirrors're bigger."

Owen finds himself a place to sit, just listening for a moment.

Sepdet nods. "Right. First law of theft the Cairo Gnawers taught me: a nibble here, a nibble there. Never all in one place or the cops will be on your ass." She grins wryly at Yi. "And I have no idea if this will be enough to lure us some sun-spirits. I plan to do some heavy theurge sweet-talking about bringing light to dark places, destroying the forces of darkness, and such. They may not buy it. But it's worth a try. If they don't buy it, we've got electricity too."

Julie remembers her manners, and pulls out a somewhat rumpled pack of gum from her pocket, and offers pieces to the others.

Yi gives Owen a quick nod, before declining the gum politely. "Got a sandwich to chew on first," she answers the galliard. "Rotem also said he could hook these lights up to the electricity lines. Though how to go about doing that, only he and whoever knows that stuff knows."

Sepdet nods grimly. "You let him come down, you'll be putting a cub in a spot that may have banes in it. A thought to consider. On the other hand, could be a Rite of Passage for him?"

Owen waves a hand to decline the offer. "How far out are these lights gonna get spread out?"

Julie nods somewhat to Sep's consideration. "I'm bettin' we gots people who can hook them up for him. I really don't think he's ready for no RoP yet."

"I'm not giving the ok for him to be down there. That's Elan-rhya's job," Yi answers after another bite and swallow. "He's really passionate about his lights though." A small, almost undetectable arch of the brow. "And I dunno how far these lights can go. I'd bring this one out to try, but... no sense in flashing lights around town."

Sepdet's mouth wrinkles slightly at Julie's assessment, her nod suggests the cub's fame has spread far and wide. "Mm. Okay." She rolls her shoulders at Owen. "Up to those who know how to wire these things. As far apart as we can and still have the light overlap, I'd think, starting under the fountain and working outward. If people could start doing that during the day, at least get the area under the Park hooked up, that would be useful."

"Well if it's during the day, and around the park.. maybe.." Yi thinks aloud, "Maybe I can bring the cub downstairs. But if things are too rank, I'll pull out."

Julie nods, too, to Yi's reply about Elan. "O' course, if'n yer thinkin' we can keep him safe an' restrained, El'n might be okay with it. Worst he can say is 'no'." She thinks a moment, Owen's question about the light's travel distance giving her an idea. "Mebbe we can use some o' the mirrors t' extend the lights' travel? Some o' the bigger mirrors?

Sepdet exhales. "What he's done so far is already a help. Don't bring him down if you think you'll need to supervise him too much, though: you may be needed elsewhere to fight banes that try to stop us. Speaking of which." She nods to Owen. "I expect they /will/ try to stop us. Three or four big, burly Get to take them down would be useful."

Owen nods. "I still gots a question, though. As bright as that light is, just how much juice does it draw?"

Owen then frowns a little. "There's a whole pack of big, burly Get who's territory this all infringes on already."

Yi moves over to the light setup, and motions with her free hand to the three 9-volt batteries. "One of them, uses 3 of these batteries. 15 of them... shouldn't take up too much, for the amount of light it gives. And the city might notice, but they'll probably think someone from their maintenance set them up. If they ever come back down this way."

Sepdet shakes her head helplessly. "Dammit, Owen, I'm a theurge, not a Glass Walker." She squints at him. "Also a pack of Gnawers. I planned this Rite in the first place with Kaz and Signe, Owen."

Owen heaves a sigh. "Fine, Bones. I'm just tired of stepping on toes."

Sepdet smiles crookedly. "Probably wise to check, especially where a Strider's involved."

Julie eyes Owen. "Well, here's stuff goin' down, where're they t' help, 'r say no? An' I thought you weren't packin', so..." There's a light grin on her lips, taking the sting from her words.

Yi rubs the back of her neck and finishes the sandwich. "So how many do you want with you, Sepdet-rhya?"

Owen frowns a little more. "And a pack of Get. They already wanna handle one bit of business without me around." He looks sidelong towards Julie. "And I ain't. Thanks for reminding me."

Sepdet winces at Owen. "Thought you and Jarred and Jamethon were working something. You did well together before."

Yi glances at Owen, warily. "Still have that problem at Hanford, too. Jarred was telling me how he wanted to go back," she adds quietly.

Sepdet purses her lips and returns to Yi's question. "Two or three others to help me concentrate on the Rite of Summoning. As few as possible to competently hook up lights and set up mirrors: we've got a space problem down there. Any that could be done ahead of time is a help. Still, I expect that's another three. Fighters to protect them: maybe three, but I'm sure we could use more. And finally it would be good if some folks stayed topside to keep humans away, although that's not crucial."

Julie shrugs lightly at Owen. "Sorry. Will you join us on this? We cou'd use you, bigtime."

The sound of footsteps can be heard from upstairs, then Rotem calls out "Yo? Anyone home?" and moves down towards the basement.

Yi nods. "I'll see what I can do, if I can get Rotem to hook the lights up ahead of ti--..." she pauses at the sound. "time, then we should have them hooked up before the rite."

Owen gets back to his feet. "Ain't nobody talked to me about shit in packing. An' if Jarred wants to go butt-nutty down in Hanford, that's his own suicide. Goin' down there with just a few is about as dumb as dumb can get. And I mean even if this whole Sept were to go, it'll be dumb." Now he's good and pissy as Rotem arrives. He looks towards the kitchenette first, thinking about beer, but doesn't seem to be headed that way. Owen then sighs and nods to Julie. "If I'm still in town."

Julie frowns somewhat as Owen's mood deteriorates. She isn't really reading his mind, but at least the look the kitchen's way prompts the Gnawer to slide toward the fridge. Old pack habits die hard. "Anyone want somethin' t' drink?"

Rotem comes down from the steps, "Whoah, hey gang." He smiles softly, "I left one of my lights here. Just came to get it." He explains his returned presence before answering Julie, "I'll have a beer."

Sepdet pushes her hair back from the sides of her face, using the motion to surreptitiously scan the new arrival. "Water would feel good right now," she answers non-pressingly.

Yi waves the drink offer too, but looks directly at Rotem. "Hey," she greets the cub, cautiously stepping around this issue of cubs in sewers. "How fast can you hook up these lights of yours?"

Owen just shakes his head, declining any offers of drinks.

Julie rummages in the fridge and pulls out a beer, a soda, and a banged up jug of bottled water. The beer's tossed Rotem's direction, and a glass is filled with water and taken over to Sep.

Rotem shrugs softly. "Depends. I'd have to take a look at what they got down there." He moves over towards Yi as he talks. "In what sewers I've been in my life they have a land line running in there for maintanance. I could hook that up in about one minutes time."

Rotem continues on, not explaining what time he has spent in sewers, "If I gotta hook it up to something more complicated... three minutes." The cub grabs the beer out of the air and opens it. Smilling. "Ya know its against the law to give this to me."

Sepdet takes the cup in both hands with a smile and a quiet nod at Julie. She walks a little away from the others, staring at the floor, evidently thinking.

"Which law would that be," Yi murmurs, though already calculating the time it'd take. Then she turns to Sepdet. "Mirrors, with combined efforts from us, should have enough to span the distance we went in the Umbra... I think."

Rotem rolls his eyes. "Alcohol, minors, ya'know?" Rotem shakes his head and sits down over by the couch. "So, when will we go set them up?"

Julie just grunts at Rotem, then plops into a chair near Owen, and pops the top of her soda. A light kick toward his leg, and tilt of her head in silent question.

Rotem chugs a large gulp of the beer then smiles, remembering how drunk he got last time.

Yi rubs the back of her neck some more, moving to lean against a wall. "You, might not go set them up. Probably good if you told some people how to do what you know." She glances at the cub, testing. "But, I might be able to get an ok from Big Dog to let you down with a few others." Her gaze narrows.

Sepdet turns back to the others, simply observing now, lapping at her tipped-up cup like a dog from a water bowl.

Rotem nods softly. "I'd like to go, Yi. To help. I want to prove that I'm not a waste of time." Rotem looks over towards Sepdet curiously, then back to Yi. "I could explain the simple stuff, but what if you run into trouble? I don't want you ending up without light down there."

Sepdet seems to come back from wherever it is a theurge goes when her mind is on other things, and gives a soft chuckle. "We should bring regular flashlights too, just in case."

Owen is about to give Julie a look when all of a sudden he comes to full attention, becoming quite still for a time. It lasts for only a few moments, then he balls his meaty hands into fists. He's going to punch someone or something. Very hard. He just hasn't made up his mind what.

Rotem shakes his head. "I got that covered too. I built a few flashlights from the left overs." Rotem smiles, "Just in case. The banes would break a regular flashlight's bulb."

"We'll use the batteries," Yi replies after some thought. "Light up our way first, move, and use the other lights while you hook one up, move some more... And afterwards hotfoot it back up to the surface." Her eye gazes sidelong to Owen.

Sepdet smiles gratefully. "You know, cub, when you're not damaging your teachers, you're doing good work for Gaia." She seems not to have noticed Owen's sudden... whatever it is, perhaps because she's not facing his direction right now.

Julie blinks, and curls away from Owen a bit. She's been tossed around by the Get before. Not wanting to do so again. "Whassup, Owen?" she asks quietly.

Rotem bows his head softly and smiles to Sepdet, "Thanks, whoever you are. I'm Greenstreak, Rotem, Ahroun of the Bone Gnawers." A smile spreads over his lips.

Sepdet nods soberly. "Sepdet. Strider Seer and elder, alpha of pack Avalon, and once Harbinger of Hope." She rolls out the words with a simple rhythm that takes them down to earth, a bit, then adds, after a moment's thought, "Adren."

Julie waits for the rank to sink in.

Yi glances to the cub, wondering if anyone told him what the ranks beyond cliath are. Rotem nods softly. "Nice t'meecha Rhya-Rhya." Rotem smirks and looks to her, "So, you're the one who is going to make my lights glow in the shadow?" He asks, rising up, moving to Sepdet and extending his hand, "S'good to meet you".

Owen just mutters to himself, loud and clear enough for at least Julie to hear it. "I'm not that fucking important..." He turns around, still quite tense, and points directly at Rotem. "I hear you've been pickin' fights." His voice is dead serious.

Sepdet lets go of her drink and receives his hand gently, formally; her handshake bears the faint stiffness of someone who doesn't do it often. She dips her eyes. "We'll put your lights realmside. But the local electricity spirits--" she pauses as Owen speaks, mouth tipping into a faint frown-- "should flock to the area, if we tempt them."

Rotem moves behind Sepdet as Owen speaks to him. "I.. I'm.. No, not lately." He stammers, remembering Owen from his treatment of BaneCruncher. "I got no b-bone to pick with you."

Yi's narrowed gaze remains half-lidded, shifting from Get to cub. For a moment, she debates whether to interrupt.

Julie bites her lip. "Rotem," she intones quietly, "Don't hide. That's worse'n not backin' down."

Rotem looks to Julie. "I a-ain't hiding. I just don't want to fight anyone." He gulps, "I've had enough fighting other Garou for a while."

Nodding with Julie's statement, Yi simply watches. "Respect all those beneath you," she murmurs softly.

Owen half-sneers at Yi. "Oh, I'll respect him. I'll respect his fullmoon ass all over the wall if he cowers like that EVER again in my presence." Full attention on the cub now. "You get that itch ever again to hit anyone, you best make fucking sure it's me, you got that?"

Rotem steps out from behind the seer, and moves to stand inches away from Owen. "Look, Rhya. I'm done with fighting when I shouldn't. So if you want to hit me. Go ahead." Rotem looks up to Owen's face. "But I'm not fighting you."

Sepdet doesn't even bother to step aside, since Rotem would have to stoop not to see pver her head. She turns her body slightly to give Owen more of Rotem to glare at, and vice versa.

Yi rolls her shoulder in a short shrug. "Remind me to spar with you sometime Owen," Yi mutters again, though not making any move to stop the staredown.

Owen decides not to crush the Gnawer cub in a staredown. That wouldn't be any fun. He half turns away from him with a sneer, only to come around full tilt with a haymacker aimed right for the kid's teeth.

Julie oys quietly, because of the 'offer' to hit him. Then she is wincing. Oh, boy, that is gonna hurt...

Rotem ducks under the large arc of the punch, in a blur of motion bringing his own arm upwards, aiming for Owen's family jewels, his knuckles planting in as hard as he can.

Sepdet ducks and twists sideways incredibly fast as Owen's fist passes right over her shoulder, to squirt out from the sudden confrontation like a watermelon seed on escape velocity.

From afar, to the room, Sepdet uses Speed of Thought to be /elsewhere/, now, yessirree. :)

Julie might not be as fast as the Strider, but she too is moving, and taking her chair with her to clear some room up for the two. Ain't no way she is going to interfere in this, nope, no way. And off toward Yi and Sep she heads.

Owen grunts, and it isn't even that much of a one as Rotem's fist meets hardened plastic protection down below. He gives the cub a look like he's about to be admonished, then becomes a blur, a fit of rage. A grab, a spin, a twist, and a jerk, then Rotem in bent over backwards over Owen's knee, classic backbreaker position, on hand on the cub's groin and the other against his neck as pressure is applied in a violent snap of action.

Rotem groans and stares up at the ceiling before he falls limp, unconcious for the moment.

Yi doesn't suppress her sharp intake of breath at the snap. "Ow," she grits out.

Julie winces, then rushes over to nudge Owen away. "Man, don't kill him, jeeze!" Then she is checking for a pulse at Rotem's neck.

Sepdet's shoulders tighten at the sound of breaking bone. She looks down at the cub and observes quietly, "He'll heal."

Owen dumps the cub on the floor unceremoniously. "He'll be fine in a minute. Slap him awake and make him shift." He suddenly looks not nearly as pissy as a few minutes ago as he heads into the kitchen for a soda.

Yi nods, ever so little, before pushing off the wall and also moving to Rotem's side. She pats the cub's cheek some. "Rotem? Can you hear me?"

Julie finding one, she does just that, starts popping his other cheek lightly to wake him. Between the two of them, he should be able to hear them soon.

Rotem shakes his head slightly, but doesn't open his eyes, a groan emerges from his lips, but he doesn't wake.

Julie tries a different tact. "Git yerself up, damnit!" All but yelled in Rotem's ear. Maybe the militaristic method will work.

Owen pulls out a coke. "If I broke him too bad, Sepdet, would you mind?" Pop, fizz, gulp.

Sepdet grimaces. "Actually, I figure cubs learn better when it stings for a bit," she says softly. But she slips over and drops to one knee beside Julie to examine the cub.

Rotem groans out loudly, opening his eyes and lifting his arm to grab Julie's neck in his hand, almost reflexively.

Yi balks back a step as Julie yells. "Gah." She shakes her head some to clear the ringing, and then glances back up at Owen. "I won't mind, too much," she replies before gazing back down at the cub, standing up moving away. To Owen, she gazes sidelong. "Yeah. I should spar with you, sometime."

Sepdet's voice snaps like a whipcrack. "Rotem. Wrong target. Let go."

Julie finds a hand around her throat, but, at least it worked. Fingers reach up to work his free.

Owen gives Yi a slight nod. "You're on."

Rotem holds on to Julie's neck tightly, now opening his eyes and pulling her closer, "Next time, let me sleep." He releases her from his hold and shifts up to glabro, still laying on the floor.

Yi might have just signed a contract for a beatdown, but hey, no pain no gain. "I'll find you after totem quest," she murmurs before looking at the shifting cub.

Julie smacks him. "Next time, don't grab me." A growl, and up to her feet she goes.

Sepdet rocks forward slightly in her crouch, blocking Rotem's way somewhat if he tries to take a parting swing at Julie.

Rotem lays on the floor in glabro. "So, how did the truck get in here, and who got the licence plate number?"

Sepdet breaks into a thin smile, pats the unlucky cub's shoulder, and gets to her feet. "I should be heading back to my rounds," she says quietly.

Yi nods to Sepdet. "I'll see you later, alpha." Her eyes go down to Rotem. "Good thing we heal fast, eh?"

Rotem shrugs softly. "I hope he's buying me dinner at least. Or is he the wham, bam, thank you man, type?"

Julie doesn't answer Rotem, but gives Sepdet a smile of parting as she rubs her neck lightly. She turns and eyes Owen. "Feel better?" What might get the Get is, she's totally serious.

Sepdet winces faintly at Rotem's mutterings and shakes her head. She looks over at Owen directly for the first time since before the fight, arrested in her departure by the question.

Owen downs the soda, belches loudly, and leaves a crushed can behind in the trash. "I would patrol with you tonight, Strider, if you would have it." He he Julie a nod with no real answer to it.

Julie gives Owen an 'okay' shrug, then plops down into her moved chair to sip on her soda a bit.

Rotem glances at Owen for a moment, and then at Sepdet. "Can I come with too? If you'll hold up a minute?" Rotem groans and sits up. "I want to talk about the l-lights."

Yi considers another sandwich, but decides the bone snap is going to bounce in her head for awhile.

Sepdet looks over her shoulder at Owen, expression wry. "My patrols are far, fast, and involve several contacts and spirits who might be intimidated by one of your stature." She fetches up at the foot of the stairs and gives Rotem a measuring look. "Yes?"

Owen gives one simple nod to the Strider. "Fine." He makes his way back upstairs.

Julie drags herself out of her seat. "Mind if'n I walk with you a bit, Owen?" The talk of the night has fizzled out, and she needs some fresh air, anyway.

Rotem rises up to his feet, arching his back as he tests it. "Ow." he mutters before replying to Sepdet. "If I can keep up, can we talk?"

Sepdet shakes her head at Rotem. "Not where I'm going. State what you need to say."

Owen is already halfway up the stairs. "I ain't stopping you," he says in a tone familiar when Weasel was around.

Rotem says "I wanted to know what would d-draw the electric spirits. What makes 'em happy?"

Julie casts a wave to Sepdet and Yi, glares at Rotem, then heads upstairs.

Yi motions with her hand to wave Julie goodbye, and then glances between the two left.

Sepdet points at the light. "That, for one. Active wires with electricity running through them. The more the better. Sparks. Lights. Gadgets. Walker things."

Rotem nods softly. "Hmm. Okay. I'll try." Rotem considers, looking back to his contraption. "I'll think it over."

Sepdet smiles. "Very good." She peers around his shoulder at her packmate, shaking her head. "Keep him busy on the Weaver toys. He'll stay alive longer."

Yi heads over to Sepdet. "And I have something to ask of you, after, about Avalon. But it can wait if we're going to Turtle House."

Rotem chuckles at Sepdet's comment and lays back down. "For now I'll rest a bit."

Sepdet tells the cub, "Sleep well." She lowers her voice to tell Yi, "I have to stop and check on a few kin, and some other things I look after. So I may not make it to the lake for a little while. What's up?"

Yi decides instead, to wave the matter for now. "Nothing, alpha," she replies after. "I'll not keep you from patrol. It can wait, until I can get to the lake again and speak with all of us."

A purer smile crosses the young Strider's face, and she reaches out to press a hand against Yi's shoulder. "I will see you soon at the water's edge."

Rotem watches the two elders, then sits up. "Yi? We got food today?"

Yi reaches up to give Sep's hand a squeeze and a nod. Then she turns to Rotem. "There's some food in the fridge. Matt's come back, so he's left some steaks and things."

Rotem rises up and walks over to the fridge, cracking it open and looking over the food. He shakes his head. "Nah, I got some left over lobster at home. I'll have that." He smiles and turns back to Yi. "Ya'know. If I keep eating like this I'll get spoiled."

"You're already spoiled," Yi teases quietly, before actually asking, "Your back ok?"

Rotem nods softly. "Yeah. But he has the right idea. I'm going to buy a cup today. Can you dedicate it for me?"

Yi nods, surprisingly not laughing at that. "Sure," she answers. "Just like I need to buy a belt." Mentions of why are ignored. "Well, I have to hand it to you, you have guts. Not those," she points to his stomach. "But spirit. You need that. Just remember, you're an ahroun. In all respects, it means that you pick and choose your fights. And to be a /Bone Gnawer/ ahroun, means you fight to survive." She looks at him, firmly, but there's warmness in there. "You sorta understand? Owen's a Get. They have a thing, to never back down from a fight. That's why when you say 'hit me', he will. So... choose your words a little carefully."

Rotem nods softly. "S'cool. Never eh? Okay. Remind me to get together six or seven of us, and /then/ challenge him to a rumble."

"You know, his challenge was just that, I heard," Yi replies thoughtfully, moving to the fridge to grab a soda. Glancing at it, the tab seems to push down on its own with a shart snap and hiss of air. "He challenged for fostern, and the challenge was a rumble. He won." She takes a sip. "I don't know about your rite of passage, but it could be similar. We have different outlooks, the Get and the Gnawers." She gives the cub a wry smile, and a little musing glint of eye. She's already planted seeds of sparring with the Get. "Anyway." Another sip. "You and I, maybe some others, we'll try to get those lights up."

Rotem nods softly. "So, what can my rite be like? I wanna get official so I stop getting stomped on.

Yi gives a short shrug. "I dunno, really." A gulp of soda. "My rite, was with some other cubs. We got dumped in the middle of Shanghai, given a few hundred yen, and were told to make it back with gifts." She chuckles softly, remembering. "It's harder than you think." Rotem shrugs softly, shaking his head. "I could do that. So, what do you think /my/ rite will be like?"

"Like I said, I don't know," Yi answers again, finishing her soda. "But I'll tell you, whatever it is, you'll have to survive it. Probably have to fight something," she adds. "I gotta get going. Have to run far." She stretches some, and sets the can down beside the kitchenette sink. "If you have some free time," she also says to the cub, "pick up some mirrors, for the rite, yeah? We're going to try some experimenting." With that, she heads up towards the stairs. Before exiting, though, she turns around. "And congrats. About the compliment from Big Dog."

Rotem smiles softly. "Thanks. I hope I survive my rite. I have a.. vested interest.. in doing so."

Yi nods, and climbs up the stairs to head out to packlands.