Work In Progress
3/18/2007
02:14 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waning New Moon phase (2% full).
It is currently 14:14 Pacific Time on Sun Mar 18 2007.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 57 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the west at 8 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.02 and falling, and the relative humidity is 74 percent. The dewpoint is 49 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius.)
Burial Mounds(#3207RJ$)
This wide clearing in the midst of short, dark pines is rough with wild grass and bare stone. The air is a bit cooler up here in the foothills than below, and the majestic peaks of the nearby mountains rear up over the eastern treetops. There is a vine-covered boulder standing under the edge of the somber evergreens to the east. The air here is prenaturally still and the grass waves not at all for there is no breeze that blows through the pines. It is silent, no call of bird thrown from the treetops to dance gaily in the open spaces. Occasionally chill fingers run up your spine.
There are +views here.
A faint path leading downhill to the west is the only exit from the clearing.
Contents:
Circle Keeper
Tokens for the Dead
Obvious exits:
Forest
The quiet breeze goes a bit still in this hallowed place. One of the few areas where a Garou could find that eerie tinge of peace, that dead silence, the Burial Mounds hold one live occupant amongst the memorials of the many who have fallen. In front of a particular carved stone is where the Gnawer fostern can be found. She visits it often enough, doing extra cleaning where the Groundskeeper might not. Yi just sits there before the stone, eyes upon the glyphs of One-Rage-in-Shadows, Buries-the-Hatchet, and Banecruncher, amongst the others.
Circle Keeper moves in from the east, the Uktena approaching on two legs, for a change. The sound of his arrival precedes him, especially in a place where the air hangs as still and as silent as it does around the burial mounds. As he approaches, however, it becomes apparent his gait isn't because he's in homid, but rather war-form. The Uktena has a belt on, securing some sort of implement to his side, and he uses his spear's butt to measure his pace. As he approaches the edge of the clearing, he slows, Circle Keeper sniffing at the air in slow, deep draughts, as if looking for something.
Yi isn't so far off in thought that her awareness of the surroundings has dulled. The sound of the Uktena fostern coming in pricks at the ragabash's attention, which turns to find the ahroun in his form of war. Slowly, she rises from her spot upon the grass. And as he gets closer, she calls out to him. "Waqaa, Circle Keeper." So, she picked up a couple things.
Circle Keeper's ears prick at the greeting, the Uktena's head tilting slightly to one side as he sniffs in her direction repeatedly. He silently returns the greeting as he would if he was in Lupus, before similarly silently motioning for her to come over. After he does, he starts a few metres into the sombre place.
Yi turns back to the gravestone briefly to dip her head to the spirits of the fallen like there was some conversation she excuses herself from, and then heads towards the ahroun. Coming closer, she stops a little outside of the crinos' arm's reach. "Hello," she echoes of her previous greeting. "Have you come to visit?"
Circle Keeper indicates a silent 'no', flicking his ears as he plants the butt of his weapon into the ground and leans on it heavily. ~Please take Crinos?~ He rumbles to her, definitely a question. ~Listening to very much homid-talk is making my head hurt, and you speak it strangely.~
Blinking a few times, Yi quirks her head but nods and does as asked. Clothes melt into her, replaced by fur. ~That is why we have the Mother's Tongue, isn't it,~ the Gnawer rumbles with a faintly amused grin. Sniffing lightly, she takes a moment to figure out through his scent how he's doing. ~What are you here for, if not visiting?~
Circle Keeper gives a silent affirmative, and looks a tad relieved when she shifts. Without further ado, reaches down to the belt, pulling a string to allow him to de-sheath a dagger like thing. He pulls it out, holding it in reverse, before the Uktena flips it about in his mammoth paw, then holds it out to show Yi:
The dagger is carved out of a single tusk, and looks to be intended for stabbing, and not slicing. It's stout in diameter, and the 'blade' blends almost perfectly with the hilt, with only a slight bump to delineate the two. The blade shows a young Asian woman - someone that could be imagined to be Yi, on a exceptionally good day - crouched somewhat as she deflects a monstrous boar over her, stabbing at its underside. The image looks painstakingly carved in, before being stained in with a black ink to bring out the lines. The grip is wrapped in tight leather, and there's a hole carved in the very end to act as an eyelet. The whole thing looks like it took ages to finish, so careful is its detail.
As he holds it out, the Uktena watches the other fostern's reaction carefully, almost hawkishly. After she's had a few moments to look at it, he asks, ~I have not finished the other one. Is there something on this one you do not like, that should be changed with the other?~
Runner looks down at the dagger, and then very gently - firmly - grasps the handle of the dagger. Its fine crafting is not lost on her. Neither is the care with which it's been carved. Her eyes roam the details, enraptured with the story told on the weapon with just that carving. It does take more than a few moments for her to fully, truly, appreciate it. Her grip switches as twirls it around, pointing the tusk down as if she were to stab something, just getting a feel. Then the dagger is flipped back to a relaxed, inert hold. ~I knew I would not go wrong in asked you.~ By the way the light in her eyes shines, the ragabash looks well and truly pleased by the work. ~While there is nothing that I do not like about what is on this one, I am curious. What have you carved, on the other?~ she asks curiously.
Circle Keeper stands there stoically, except when she wields the thing in such a manner that makes it look like she's considering stabbing something, at which point he shifts his weight off his weapon and onto his legs. While he doesn't react to the apparent pleased response, when she asks, he backs up a few steps, turns to one side and takes a short jump, miming stabbing something on the ground as he lands with his paws and the butt of his spear. ~Showing that.~
Runner relaxes her hold on the weapon, showing she has not the intention to use it on the white crinos. And as he mimics his answer, the ragabash looks on. Again there is that pleased expression. ~That is good. I am most pleased with your skill already, and I look forward to seeing what the other holds.~
Circle Keeper stands up out of his crouch, ears perking forward as he turns back to Yi, lumbering on over. ~I am not finished with the other.~ He responds, somewhat flummoxed looking, as if Yi had suggested otherwise.
Runner holds up her free hand, silently asking him not to be confused, if he could do that. ~I did not say you finished the other. I was only curious to know what you were going to carve on the other weapon.~ Looking down to the dagger in her hand, the ragabash considers, and then looks back up. ~Maybe, you can carve glyphs on them? Glory. Wisdom. I think those would be good.~
Circle Keeper lets out a 'flmmph' of a huff, the gatekeeper giving his head a slight shake. He silently, almost begrudgingly, holds his paw out to take it back, looking somewhat put off as he does. ~I will add these.~
Runner licks the side of her muzzle, trying her darnedest not to interrupt with any more requests. Poor ahroun looks frustrated at her enough. The dagger is handed back. ~I appreciate your doing this,~ she does add however, in case he couldn't get that from her manner already. ~And I have gone to the Bluff, to find Howls-Accord and your sister. I left a message with one of the Wendigo cubs, Left-Behind.~
Circle Keeper turns it over in his hand-paw, shoving it in his sheath and pulling the string to secure it back in again. He makes a momentary glance at the burrial mounds, before he looks back to Yi again, ~Do not trust the cub to remember.~ He rumbles back. ~She is not very good at remembering things.~
Runner watches the sheathing with just as much fascination as she had when she saw the weapon out. And then the Uktena fostern makes his note and she quirks her head at him. ~Is she not? She remembered how those of Little Brother once held this caern, and their sacrifice. I told her to ask a galliard next time, to tell her of the Ice King.~ A pause. ~She is a good cub, though. Very concerned to be properly submissive.~
Circle Keeper seems fairly far from convinced, the Uktena tossing his head slightly as he crouches down. The two crinos are towards the edge of the burial mounds. Circle Keeper's wearing some sort of belt, which appears to be holding the knife he's been working on in the longhouse for ages. The uktena elder licks his chops as he tips the shaft back to rest on his shoulder. ~It is your business to make sure you keep your end of the bargain. Not her cub's.~
Runner folds her arms across her chest at that, a thin growl issuing from her. ~Have a little faith. I do not expect the cub to be my only method of communication. I will go to their territory edge and howl for them every night if I must until I find them and uphold my end of this trade.~
Left-Behind can be heard approaching long before she can be seen, her paws breaking twigs and crunching pine needles as she walks along, not really trying to be quiet. She steps into the clearing almost by accident, her nose down to follow some scent or another, and looks up in surprise at the two Fostern there. Slowly, she wags her tail and drops her posture down to the submissive, chuffing a soft greeting.
Any responce from Circle Keeper is forestalled with the arrival of the cub, who he turns his head to stare across the way at. Sniffing at the air a few times, he returns the cub's greeting with a grunted greeting of his own, before turning back to Yi.
Runner pricks her ears at the interruption as well, her sniff mimicking the Uktena's. Her crossed arms open up, relaxing. ~Speak of the cub,~ she rumbles lightly. ~And they appear. Hello, Left-Behind.~ As Circle Keeper turns back to her, she keeps her gaze on the Wendigo for a lingering moment longer. One could say the expression on the ragabash's face is anticipation. ~Remember me?~
Left-Behind tips her head to the side, ears pricked in curiosity. Runner-rhya, I remember you. She glances between Yi and Circle Keeper and then hesitantly pads forward. I came to see the burial grounds. But I haven't found Pierces-Ice yet.
Circle Keeper's tongue snakes out, licking at his chops as he looks momentarily at Michelle, before shooting Yi a nasty look. ~Not a funny joke.~ He comments, oh-so-dryly.
Runner does her best to give Circle Keeper a look that shows no insult to his comment, ears tilting back. ~Maybe not to you, but to me it is. Was,~ she replies from behind her appeasing grin. Back to Left-Behind, she nods and gestures to the carved memories stones. ~And so you are here. Friends and family, the memories of them, are here. Don't worry about Pierces-the-Ice yet. I search for her too.~ Then she glances back to the Gatekeeper with a hopeful look that he's been mollified, slightly.
Left-Behind listens in curiosity to the conversation, but her eyes wander quickly to the stones, and she trots over to them, sniffing the top of one lightly. Did you know any of them?
Circle Keeper points over towards something in the burial mounds and grunts, in response to the cub's question. Other than that, the Uktena Fostern remains mum on that point.
Runner at that question, falters in her amusement. A sadness, faint though it is, washes over her as she responds with a weak affirmative. ~I did know some. I still do. And soon it will be the time that those from where I came from celebrate our dead by clearing their memorials of debris, making sure we remember them.~ She leaves the Uktena fostern, striding to be amidst the stones again. ~There, my tribemates who fell against the Wyrm. One-Rage-in-Shadows. Buries-the-Hatchet. Banecruncher, a lupus. And my packmates too, those recent. Calls-the-Spirits-to-Battle, and Fire-Burns-Forever, Silver Fangs both of them. Even Circle Keeper knows, yes?~
Left-Behind follows Runner around the stones, listening carefully. She looks over to where Circle Keeper pointed, and then turns to look back at the Uktena as Runner asks him a question.
If it's all possible to so thoroughly show there's no lost love between two people in such a short, neutral phrase, Circle Keeper comes as close as any person can. ~I know Fire Burns Forever.~ He states, like he's vomiting out the words. He clamps his jaws shut, as if steadfastly refusing to say anymore.
There's more, of course. ~Walks-Thin-Ice, Chaser-Never-Rests,~ Runner points out to their respective places. ~Howls-While-Dreaming, Runs-at-Dawn... And others I did not know as well, but they were my septmates. Some, my cubs. More still have gone their own ways, and I miss them, but take comfort in knowing they are alive somewhere, if not in the Heart of the Mother.~ She too, is careful about being neutral in her reaction towards the Uktena fostern's distaste.
Left-Behind watches Circle Keeper's reaction, and seems to make a note of it, although she's hardly in a position to judge the person mentioned. Then she turns back to Runner, looking to each marker as it's named. Lots of dying. She comments. Are there any Wendigo here?
Circle Keeper grunts an affirmative, before gesturing off again towards the gravestones scattered throughout. He then gestures off to a set of stones all set aside, and all looking much older and more ancient than any others near by, all with the glyph for their tribe on them, barely readable after the passage of time.
Runner looks to where Circle Keeper gestures as well, and then back to Left-Behind with a nod. ~Surely, there are. Cougar's Nine are here somewhere. And as I said, those tales of them are best told by a galliard.~ The Gnawer still looks washed over and slightly greyer in a mood as she scans around at the stones. Then she gives herself a hard shake, forcing herself out of the funk and turns to go. ~I will leave you both now. Good hunting, and Gaia watch over you.~
Left-Behind chuffs a goodbye to Runner as she leaves, and pads over to where Circle Keeper pointed, inspecting the worn out glyph with her nose. Who were Cougar's Nine? She turns to look at Circle Keeper, expecting him to know.
Circle Keeper indicates his agreement with the Galliard statement, the elder not adding anything more at that. The crinos digs his feets' claws into the soil, slightly, before adding vocally, ~There are no Galliards left from that time, though.~
Runner pauses just briefly, ears twitching at the Uktena. ~No, but, there's always the spirits one could ask.~ And that said, she shifts down to her lupus form and takes off running, almost seemingly like she's running from something amongst them.
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