Cole Challenges For Fostern

2/28/2007

10:54 AM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

Currently the moon is in the waxing Gibbous Moon phase (76% full).
It is currently 10:34 Pacific Time on Wed Feb 28 2007.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 34 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the north at 10 mph. The wind chill index puts the temperature to 26 degrees Fahrenheit (-3 degrees Celsius.) The barometric pressure reading is 29.75 and rising, and the relative humidity is 92 percent. The dewpoint is 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius.)

Bawn: Central Forest(#2876RA)
The forest is dark and quiet. No, not quiet. Listening. The ancient firs rear up all around, branches interwoven in a dense roof of dark green. Fallen needles lie in a thick carpet on the ground, heaped up around the drifts of undergrowth clinging to the scarce patches of light reaching the forest floor. Every sound seems muffled, and the sharp scent of pine hangs in the air like the clouds of midges that swarm ceaselessly beneath the branches. Even the many deer who roam here seem to step more quietly than usual, and the songbirds seldom sing.
The forest spreads out around you in all directions.
Contents:
Cole
Obvious exits:
Burial Mounds  Story Tree  Caern of the Hidden Walk  Western Bawn  Southern Bawn  Northern Bawn  Eastern Bawn  

The late-morning quiet of the forest is little disrupted by the sound of something big moving through the dense forest. Footpads are muffled by the dense layer of pine needles beneath the paws of the Fianna Elder. Howls is moving at a sedate pace, occasionally dipping his muzzle to sniff at the ground. From the way he scans his surroundings, it's obvious that he's looking for someone at the moment.

From the direction of the Burial Mounds, Yi patrols through the forest. A quiet hum, nigh inaudible for human ears but plenty detectable for lupine ears, comes from her as she walks. The melody pauses as she stoops to check some broken leaves along the trail, rubbing her fingers lightly on the plant's foliage.

Howls-For-Glory is alerted by the melodic sounds coming from the Bone Gnawer, perking his ears up. Abandoning scent for the moment, the Galliard lopes his way toward the source of the sounds. When he detects his quarry he pauses, rising into his birthform before stepping out onto the trail. "Yi-rhya?"

Well, it sounded like Sugar Ray Leonard mixed in with Leonard Little Bear's own seemingly random Wendigo beats. An odd mix indeed to be hummed from the Bone Gnawer dressed in thick layers to keep out the cold. The hum stops as Yi hears her name, blinking and poking her head up from the bush she's stopped to inspect. "Who calls me?" she asks with a squint, looking around until she spots Cole. Her squint fades away, replaced with a small smile and a nod of her head in greeting. "Hello, Cole."

Cole is dressed in a camo-patterned polarfleece vest, as well as a hat and pair of gloves. He doesn't seem too bothered by the temperature, perhaps because of his recent stint as an owner of a fur coat. He offers his own smile, a little more somber than the norm. "Hi. How're you doing today?"

Yi looks around for a moment, as if considering her answer to such a simple question. "The weather is a little cold, but nothing some fur could not handle," she replies afterwards, smiling again. The somber expression seems to go unnoticed for now, although the fostern tilts her head in curious question. "And yourself?"

Cole gives a shrug of one shoulder. "Eh, not so bad, all in all. I was actually out looking for you, truth be told." He gives the elder Gnawer a look, one that keeps from becoming a challenging stare without seeming skittish. The smile's still there as he speaks. Perhaps it's just the phase of the moon, but the Fianna also seems a bit tense.

Yi might not have noticed the gravity cloaked by the Fianna's smile, but such looks do not go unheeded. She straightens to a fuller height, brows pinching a little in silent evaluation, eyes searching for his reasons for staring at her this way. "You have found me," she replies easily however, the corner of her lips twitching up to add her own little smile. "The question now is, for what reason were you seeking me?"

Something about the response seems to set Cole a bit more at his ease. He lets out a long breath, causing a little cloud that hovers briefly before dispersing. "I wish to bring Challenge against you, Runs-the-Gauntlet-rhya. I wish to Challenge you for the right to the rank of Fostern in our Nation." His own lips tilt upward in a more genuine smile.

Furrowed brows relax, lifting in fact to show a delicate measure of surprise in Yi's expression. All of a sudden, she visibly changes from the unknowingly tenser posture to an understanding, gracious allowance. "The last time you came to me, Cole Howls-For-Glory, I asked what, and why, and how you thought you could challenge me for the rank. I ask you again, the same."

Ironically, now that the cat is out of the bag (or wolf, as it were), Cole seems even more relaxed. And when he speaks, it might seem as if he's practiced the words beforehand. "The answers haven't changed, Yi-rhya, though I certainly have. My cubs are cubs no longer. They've each proven themselves to me, and I have no fears for their being able to do without me, if need be." There's a definite pride in his voice, clear and warm as the tones of a brazen bell. "I have a mate, now, and I think I'm the luckiest man alive. My pack is strong, and I'm proud to stand beside them as their Beta. I've now been the Elder of the Fianna for over a year, and no disasters have befallen us in that time. If I'm not ready to try to earn my place in the Nation, no Garou ever is."

Yi nods slowly, the Fianna's answer draws a longer smile out of her. "Things have changed since the last time, haven't they. Your tribemates have been faring well too, from what I have last heard. You have a mate now?" she notes, focusing on a particular fact, brow arching. "Tell me of her?"

Cole's smile upgrades to a grin. "Where to start? He name's Ellie Robertson. She's Kinfolk, studying at the University here from Scotland. She's beautiful, smart as a whip and has one of the brightest smiles I've ever seen." He takes a breath, face pinkening a bit about the cheeks. "And if that weren't enough, she's of a very old and very respected Fianna family to boot. I asked her to marry me, and the poor girl was foolish enough to say yes."

His grin reflects in hers. Yi continues to silence quietly, and towards the end she finally chooses to glance away towards the woods, back towards the Burial Mounds. "Well now, that sounds like something very pleasant. Pleasant enough... to leave behind?" She returns her gaze to the galliard. "How would you feel, Cole, if this challenge took you away from her?"

Cole's grin fades away by degrees, leaving him looking somber. "To be truthful, Yi-rhya, I'd pretty much hate it." He flicks a glance towards the Burial Mounds as well before looking back to answer. "But if I only do the things I'd like, then I might as well never have become a Garou. If I have to leave her for a time to come back better able to protect her and Gaia? I'd make that sacrifice in a heartbeat."

The quiet sounds of the forest fill in for the Gnawer's answer temporarily. Her eyes once again stray, looking off into the distance past the trunks of the trees, but more like she looks for something that isn't seen past them either. "There will be some times that will be hard to bear. You have experienced some of those, and you have grown stronger." The ragabash's words also sound further off, though they seem to be directed at the Fianna. "And there will be times that will be filled with joy, and you have experienced some of those as well." Finally she returns her gaze to him, having to look up, but unfailingly, she expresses her higher rank just by the look in her eyes. "Cole Howls-for-Glory, I accept your challenge to me for the fostern rank. On two conditions." She pauses a moment to let that sink in.

Cole seems to be listening intently, leaning in as the woman who speaks them becomes distant. He gives a ghost of a nod at each of the mentions of painful and happy moments. When she meets his gaze, he turns his own aside, looking over her shoulder. When she accepts the conditions, the Galliard gives into his natural inclination to smile. "And those conditions are?"

"One," Yi replies quietly, eyes still on him, "that you are to speak to Jacinta as soon as possible to let her know where we all stand here. I have been asked to join the Warder in searching for a totem for a new pack of Guardians, so I will be found around here on the bawn, should she wish to discuss with me. I will also seek her out. If /I/ find her before /you/..." She clasps her hands behind her as she doesn't finish the statement, letting her words sit, although the mischievious smile that touches her lips can be said to hold unspoken consequences. "The second condition is that you send word to your Kin mate. And let her know... I would like to meet her."

Cole nods intently as he listens along. It's made somewhat more difficult by the fact that he doesn't make eye contact with her, but he seems to manage. The first condition doesn't seem to phase him overly much, though there's a faint drawing down of his brows at the mention of the Mistress of the Challenge. The second condition, however, seems much more surprising to her. "Ellie? You want to meet Ellie?" He sounds somewhat confused, even though he's already nodding. "That shouldn't be a problem. Unless it's with a group of Garou. Last time that happened, it was a little unpleasant."

Yi chuckles softly, and shrugs in enigmatic comment. "I leave it to you to arrange the time and place. Before the moot or after, it will be your choice. Choose what you think is best for us."

Cole responds with a smile. "I think after the Moot, sometime around the knife moon? I can think of a couple of good places off the top of my head, but I'll give it some thought. As for Jacinta-rhya...I'll be searching her out later today, if I'm lucky."

"Then, I believe that will be all for me, for now." Yi smiles back, hands unclasping from behind her to gesture to the woods and the trail beyond. "If you have other pressing business, I can understand. Although, perhaps you would like to come with me on patrol for a little while?" Her invitation extends with her limb.

Cole looks out across the indicated landscape, another smile coming to his fair features. "If it wouldn't bother you, I think I'd like that. I don't get to see the Bawn as often as I'd like to, these days. And if it won't distract you from the patrol, I think I have a couple of stories I'd like to try out on a captive audience." He gestures towards the trail. "But please, ladies and Fosterns first."

Yi giggles in amusement. "Oh, if you distract me with your tales, I will simply make sure to blame you for when the others catch us so." The fostern starts forward once more, patrol restarted again with her talesinger companion beside.

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