Basil's Parting Gift

5/6/2007

01:53 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous Moon phase (70% full).
It is currently 13:51 Pacific Time on Sun May 6 2007.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 57 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the southwest at 12 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.36 and steady, and the relative humidity is 72 percent. The dewpoint is 48 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius.)

Bawn: Southern Forest(#3017RAJ)
Evergreen trees spread their overhead branches wide across the forest floor. Each tree limb interlinks with its neighbor, forming a thick overhead canopy of pine needles that leaves the forest floor dim even at noon. An apparent tenseness seems to permeate the air here, and there is a somewhat less than subtle feeling that perhaps something is watching. The behavior of the wildlife in the area betrays a certain wariness that suggests the presence of predators nearby.
The southern edge of the bawn is marked here by the railroad tracks which run from St. Claire and Kent's Crossing to the west, towards the mountains to the east.
Contents:
Basil
Obvious exits:
Ash Grove  Railroad  South  Into the Caern  Sept Compound  Half Moon Pool  Western Bawn  Central Bawn  Eastern Bawn  

Walking through the forest in his fatigues with a pair of sunglasses on is the diminutive but growing form of Basil. He's wearing a few new things though, his old engineer boots along with knee and elbow pads and an American flag bandana wrapped around his head. He pauses in a random spot and yanks out his smokes, lighting up a cheap unfiltered smoke with a battered zippo.

Dozing along the side of a tree, the Gnawer fostern twitches her ears at the sounds of movement caught by sharp lupine senses. It's followed by the scent of cigarette smoke carried on the wind, waking Runs-the-Gauntlet from her nap. The lupus'd Guardian snorts awake, sneezes, and rises to her paws to sniff again and confirm the scent. Tail coming up in concern, she sets off to find its source. And then, when she comes upon her tribemate, the fostern splays her ears. She gives a thin growl, expressing her position in the forest as well as her distaste for the scent of the cigarettes to lupus nose.

Basil doesn't immediately look when he hears the sounds of another creature in the woods with him, though he does slowly shift around when he hears the familiar growl. Lifting two fingers up to touch to his temple, the boy flicks his fingers in her direction. "Hey." He greets in a voice somewhat more subdued than usual. "We should probably talk for a little while."

Runner returns to her breed form, rubbing a knuckle under her nose. Now that the cigarette is less offensive, she seems more attentive. "I hope that is for a ritual, and not for fun." A crooked finger indicates the tobacco, but she makes no move to take it nor prevent his smoking. "It has been some time since we just talked, hasn't it?"

"Both." Basil replies back to her, taking a few steps back to take a half lean, half sit against a tree behind him. With a look towards the sky, the Ahroun takes his shades off and stuffs them down one of his pockets. "Fittin' we're only talking together again now that I'm getting ready to leave, huh? A joke from fate, if you believe in it."

Yi arches her brows up, eyes flicking from the forest around back on attention. "Leave? What do you mean?"

"I'm leaving." Basil states plain as day, looking back at his Tribemate's face. "I've been thinking of it for a while now. Hearing about Lefty only seals the deal."

Yi looks, well, confused to start. But when the words sink in, she blinks considerably more and turns away for a moment. Her lips thin and her hands fidget by her side. "I see. Going to go on a trip. Do you need some money?" Some questions go unasked, though they hang invisibly in the air.

"Maybe. I'm going on the bike, and I'm going alone. I'm sorry, but as much as I love some of the Garou here I just know that I wouldn't be able to stand by and watch Lefty be punished. Or should I say tortured?" Basil's face tenses and his voice sours briefly, but after a few moments of cigarette puffing and silence he speaks again. "I want to know, is the Sept of the Green really as free and as controlled by Bone Gnawers as I hear, or is it just a lie?"

Yi blinks a few more times. "Punished? Tortured?" She repeats the words in question, sounding out of the loop. But like a magician's distractive hand, the topic change successfully puts her back on the intended illusion. "The Sept of the Green... that's in New York. You are going there?" Not rhetorically uttered, but the tinge of it there, the fostern puts hand to chin. "Lyra is out there. Four-Leaves. Maybe Raul, if his trip has taken him there. Or Joey. Or Junior..." For a moment, the names trap her in memories. And then she snaps back to reality. "The Sept of the Green is large. The only thing they would not like more, though, is if you hid who you were. They are open, but they are not always free. Respect the elders, and I think you will find it good.'

"What I want to know is how they treat Charachs there, and how they treat their members. If it's just like it is here, then I'll ask for a different Sept. And if I can't find one I like at all, then maybe I won't leave, or maybe I just won't be a member of any Sept at all." Basil glances off to the side. "I don't want to be part of another Sept like this one. Maybe it's different with Gnawers at the helm."

"No matter where you go, Basil, you will find yourself treated in ways you dislike by some." Yi's words come with a tone of forced resolve. "But I think the Sept of the Green will treat you decently... for one who has been branded the way you have. But Bone Gnawers will always treat family as family. That I guarantee."

"What is the Tribe composition there? How do they even treat Charachs and Charaching? If it's another Sept where things like that are dragged into the light and 'made example of', I'll just keep going." Basil runs a hand through his hair and rolls his shoulders again. "As long as it's mostly controlled by Gnawers, I don't care who judges me there. But if they come for the Gnawer Sept itself then I will fight them."

Yi shakes her head, a hand moving to set upon the teen's shoulder reassuringly. "They will treat you as well as you deserve. You have already served your punishment here. There is no reason to continue it there. If you go, find Lyra Four-Leaves, sometimes called Miracle-Worker. She was a cub here, rited here. Her mate is Kin, and they have children. Though it's been a long time since I went there to visit. Still, the Gnawers were the strongest there. I'm sure you'd find plenty of friendly faces."

Basil lowers his head a little and places his hand on Yi's despite him tensing up when his shoulder was touched. "I just don't want to be anywhere where they treat Charachs, even ones they just discover, like they do here. Less emphasis on the law, more on family and doing good work. I won't be able to sit by and watch someone treat someone else like they treated me, not when they do it out of love and not stupidity or lust. I know you might think I'm wrong, and some others might too, but it's what I really feel. If I find many Charachs there... I've been thinking I might even form a pack of them."

Yi removes her hand gradually, the contact short but warm as a big sister regarding her younger brother. "You will find there is no sept like the Hidden Walk. No two septs are the same, that much I can tell you. Don't worry. They will treat you well, if you give them reason to." Still, there is sadness in the no-moon's voice. "When will you leave?"

"When the moon is smaller. Half, or on the Theurge. The math says it will take me about a week to get there and that will give me time." Basil murmurs, looking back up at Yi with a small smile. "Hopefully The Sept of the Green is what I hope it is. If it isn't, like I said, I'll be going elsewhere. The more liberal it is, the better. Maybe I'll come back in a month or so, or maybe I'll never return, but I'll call home."

Yi nods slowly, coming to accept and respect. "The world is big, Basil. Bigger than anything you could hope it to be. If you need anything though..." She turns back to him. "Before you go though. What were you talking about? About Lefty?"

"You'll see. You should go talk to her." Basil murmurs. "Hopefully it's so big that I can find freedom in it, or at least a nice Bone Gnawer Kin to settle down with far away from here." Basil carefully puts his cigarette out on a penny, then tucks the remains away in a jacket pocket.

"I know she was on the bawn until recently," Yi muses aloud with a contemplative, searching air. "But I have been patrolling the farther side, north more than west. After Jacinta said there was Wyrm-taint there..." Her words dissolve like the cigarette ash into the air. "Well. Before you leave, could you do me another couple of favors?"

"Maybe. Ask. I might say no but I might say yes, I've got some people I need to see before the half moon comes." Basil scratches the side of his head. "That and I have a surprise I want to leave you all, the Gnawers anyways. I think you'll like it. You'll just have to wait until you're done being a Guardian to see it yourself."

Nodding understandably, Yi shuffles a hand into her pocket. "First, I need my flat keys back. Or you can give them to Masao. The second favor is that if you do go to New York and you find Lyra, to say hello on my behalf."

"I'll give them to Masao. God knows I'm not relishing saying goodbye to her, but I know I have to. What kind of ex-boyfriend would I be if I just left without a word?" Basil muses weakly, then sighs. "I'll find her as best I can and see what she's up to. If you want, I'll have her call your flat when you're done with guardian'nin'."

Yi lightly shakes her head. "She should know where my third spare set is. The flat is open to the Gnawers here. If you do find yourself in need of supplies though, the back of the closet in the bedroom, left wall. Just leave me a note if you do go there. Walk with me? I think this is easier to deal with, if I am moving."

"I'll check and see if there is anything I can use." Basil murmurs quietly, keeping his eyes on Yi for the most part despite having to look away every so often as they walk along. "Olga's probably going to be the hardest to say goodbye to. I almost wish I could knock her out, stuff'r in a trunk and take her with me."

Yi chortles softly, glancing to her tribemate. "Knock her out and take her with you? Oh, does this mean I am unwanted?" That question is rhetorical, but asked nonetheless. "What will you do about Sean?"

"Of course I'll miss you too, but me and Olga have always been closer than anyone else here except... Well. Me and Kevin. Kev's going to be goddamned miserable while I'm gone." Basil remarks dejectedly, then looks sidelong at Yi. "You're a Guardian now. Do you think you can handle him? He's a good kid you know."

"I believe I can. But hopefully the others remember he is at the farmhouse, and I cannot always be there," Yi replies with a nod. "I guess you haven't told Kevin yet?"

"I have. He was the first person I told. It was kind of... Emotional, when I told him, but he won't be going with me." Basil pauses and adds. "And no, we didn't 'stuff'."

Yi is once again, confused as she pauses in walking and looks to the ahroun. "Stuff?" echoes the ragabash. "You told him and he is not going with you, that I understand. He only just said he was going to be the alpha of Vendetta, after all. But what do you mean?"

"We didn't get all sappy and screw, is what I mean. And if anyone asks we haven't since we were caught, despite how close we are." Basil grunts and scratches at the side of his head, somewhat grumpily remarking. "I'll never understand why he loves me still so damn much after all the things that've happened. Then again we're not supposed to understand Ragabashes."

Yi's jaw drops a little at the answer, but she quickly recovers. Awkwardly, she scratches at the side of her own head and gives a wry half smile. "I don't suppose you are supposed to understand the no-moon. Only what the no-moon does." And however enigmatic that sounds, she leaves it be. "It is like love itself. Not something easily understood. But, I do hope you find a Kin who will be as understanding. And that you will... what is that phrase... 'Do right by him'?"

"Or her. I like boys are girls, not that anyone seems to remember any... Sure, boys have a bit more options in bed, but girls have tits." Basil explains, nodding his head as if agreeing with himself with as serious a face as he can muster. It doesn't last long when he starts to chuckle, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Maybe I'll find someone, maybe I won't. I guess time will tell."

Yi blinks a few more times, and with a smile shakes her head. "Well that is true. And we usually have better hair," the no-moon tacks on with a comb of her fingers through her own. "Sometimes I forget how much I miss the options." Chuckling herself, Yi pauses to inspect a game trail. The smile fades briefly before she speaks again. "Make sure you go into the Umbra too. I know how much you don't like the Shadow, but you should see both sides of the coin."

"I know. That's what my pack was about, after all. I'll admit that I'm kind of going to miss some things around here, but I'll be glad to see what a city Sept, what a Gnawer Sept is all about. I'd like to think I paid back most of the trouble I caused too, even if no one'll ever see it that way outside of family." Basil looks over at Yi and smirks a little. "How do you like the Guardian's home that I built?"

Yi rises from her stoop, giving a small shrug and a smile. "It works wonderfully. I just regret now every time I see it, it will be with thoughts of you, fat moon." Teasingly, she regards the ahroun. "You have paid plenty, but I hope you will find yourself doing something you are happy with. That is all this ragabash can hope for, with the cubs she has trained."

"Then at least you and everyone else have something lasting to remember me by. I intend on visiting everyone I care about before I go, and leaving them with something. I just couldn't think of anything to leave you though.... Not until I thought for a while." Basil reaches into his pants pocket and takes out a length of what appears to be bone, and on closer inspect is a large sharpened tooth with leather strips wrapped around the root. "I'm keeping most of the other teeth and what bones I can carry from the Wyrm thing, but I made this. It's from the last big Wyrm thing I killed. Thought it'd make a unique little knife to add to your collection."

It's a delightful surprise, though bittersweet. Yi steps closer to check out the gift. "May I?" She gently reaches for the sharpened bone knife, feeling its point in her hand. "So, this does prove you have been thinking of leaving for a while then," she then remarks, hiding the dejected nature of it. "I will carry this with me, and be sure to remember," she adds with a look up to meet the ahroun's eyes. "No matter what others say, Basil, I do and always will care for you."

Basil lifts his hand up and lightly pats the side of Yi's face. "No, I've always kept the bones of my foes and sometimes thought of making weapons and armor out of them for myself. I mighta thought about leaving for a while, but I wasn't planning on ever doing it after Kevin put the brakes on the last flight of mine." Basil looks back into Yi's eyes and simply smiles, though his expression is as bittersweet as she feels about her gift. "Do me a favor and don't stand up for me when I'm gone. I don't want any blood spilled to defend my name or memory or anything silly like that."

Yi cants her head at the ahroun. "Family will always be family," she replies with a return smile, adding a nod. "And I'll only do what's fair. Promise." The bone knife gets another look before being slid into a pocket. "Where are you going next? Who are you going to go see?"

Basil shrugs his shoulders. "I have to see Morgan yet, but she'll be last because she's a Galliard and all. I still have to see... Hm. Olga, Masao, and... Huh. I'd see Grey but we'd just grunt at each other for ten minutes then go, I don't know Cat that well despite saving him, even if he is damned cute. Oh, Emma. Can't forget about her, huh?"

"So it sounds like you will be heading into the city," Yi muses aloud with the names spoken. "You have many to meet and more to explore then. I would see Grey, if you could. He is one who knows far more about the truth of the world out there than many of us here. By the way... How well do you know Cole?"

"I guess I should say goodbye to Cole, too, eh?" Basil huffs and counts the number of people he has to bid farewell to on his fingers. "Ha! I was wrong. I can't count the number of people that care about me on one hand."

Yi reaches over to pat the ahroun on the shoulder. "You would be surprised how many here will miss that one eye," she says to him. "Put you worries aside though, and look forward to the journey ahead of you. I just hope you will send us a message every once in a while."

"Maybe if they spoke up more often I wouldn't be leaving." Basil murmurs back with a small smirk. "Then again, no one knows what it's like, to be sad bad man behind a blue eye eh? Maybe someday I'll come back, I just doubt I'm going to. Then again, maybe someday ya'll will come to me."

Yi nods slowly, giving the ahroun a light nudge once more before dropping her hand to her side. "Maybe we will. Maybe we won't. Gaia and Luna guide all our paths. Let us just hope we aren't completely blind to the rocks that stick up in them." She studies his face a little longer, particularly on the section of the missing eye. Though her lips part as if to speak more, nothing comes out. Instead, the no-moon glances away into the forest. "I am proud of you anyway," she utters softly.

Basil huffs a slow sigh out of his protruding bottom lip, making his blonde hair flutter briefly in front of his face. The Ahroun steps up to Yi and puts his arms around her to squeeze her in an close hug, all his attention on the Ragabash's face. "It makes me glad to know that, even after all the things I did. I'm sorry I soiled your name when I slept with Kevin... I've always been sorry for that, 'cause you're a better Garou than I'll ever be. Hopefully-" Basil lets go of Yi and shoves his hands in his pockets. "Sean'll listen to you guys more than I do. An for the record, I never blamed you for the whole 'half blind' thing."

Yi nearly squeaks in reaction to the unexpected hug. But she does hug back tightly. "You'll have to do more than that to best what I've done to my own self in the past," she says, a hand patting the ahroun's back lightly before she lets go. "Thank you. Now, I believe you have a long list of people to find yourself, so you should get going, hm?"

"I promise not to keep punishing myself for my past if you promise to try and think less of your own." Basil promises, then grins, unable to help but squeeze the Ragabash extra tight and lift her a slight bit before setting her down. "Incase I don't see you for a while, the extra hug should last you a while. Always wanted to bear hug a Fostern." Basil turns his back to her then waves his hand over his shoulder. "Keep going. If you hit the next level of Garou-Fu, maybe someday you can make this a Gnawer Sept."

Yi does squeak the next time she is hugged, and that's from delighted surprise. "Oh you," she pushes at the ahroun with her palm. "Don't you give up on me either. Survive, and we will see each other again some day - hopefully soon. At this sept, or another."

"If you ever decide to have a little Yi, let me know and I'll swing around to say hello." Basil smirks then starts walking away, calling out over his shoulder. "If you do, make Masao the Godfather and Godmother, she'll love that joke."

It takes a little longer for that to sink in, but oh when it does, it does deep. The fostern's eyes go wide and her hand goes to her mouth to cover it and stifle the aftershock guffaw. Yi ends up ducking behind a tree to keep her ridiculous expression from being seen, but eventually does regain enough control to shift down to lupus form. A short while after Basil's gone a walking, the ragabash's higher pitch howl of farewell hails him and fades into the forest.

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