Ronin Investigation
7/26/2007
06:17 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (80% full).
It is currently 18:13 Pacific Time on Thu Jul 26 2007.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly sunny today. The temperature is 73 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the northeast at 3 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.03 and falling, and the relative humidity is 57 percent. The dewpoint is 57 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius.)
[Somewhere on the western edge of St. Claire...]
The directions Matt gave can easily be looked up, and in fact happen to be pretty much on the very western edge of town. Where the city falls away to the suburbs, and the suburbs fall away to the very rural edges. There's only a few houses out this way, and the dirt path from the roadway lead up to a small 'house', really what looks to be nothing more then a two room shack, worn away in the years with rotted wood sidings, and overgrown grass and weeds all over.
Leading the way, Yi and her tribemate approach the 'house' of the supposed Ronin mother. However, before they're even fifty feet of the house, she pauses and turns to Kaz. "We should make sure she is alone, first. I'll take wolf, and go around once. You are better with words... you knock?"
Kaz hefts the clipboard she brought along for just such possibilities. "WaPIRG, atcher service. We gonna go shadow, afterwards?"
The back of the house is almost worse then the front. The weeds look like they might eat small children and animals, no doubt there is a world record weed back here, enjoying it's weedy life. There's no windows on the back of the house, but there is one on the front side, near the cracked front door. The windo is cracked as well with a good portion of one corner missing, as if a baseball hit it and shattered it.
Yi considers this. "If she is not inside, she may be in the Shadow. We'll see." And with a quick glance around to make sure there's no immediate watchers, Yi crouches down before shifting to her lupus form. She heads to the back of the house at a quick but near silent approach, nose, ears and eyes open.
Kaz waits patiently, nose twitching once or twice as she does so.
The Gazebo sits there. It is not moving. It is not attacking. It's a gazebo. Or, in this case, it's a shack. The pot scent is pretty heavy. There's no real sounds coming from inside, but maybe if the wolf listened /real/ close like, might hear breathing and the crackle of a small fire. Really small fire.
Runner approaches the shack quietly, just listening for a time to the sound of the breathing and the fire. Her nose wrinkles a bit with the smell of marijuana. She does, however, circle back around front to signal Kaz with a flag up of her tail. Come.
Kaz straightens and puts on her 'Really old student canvassing for progressive organization' brain, and goes up to knock.
Runner meanwhile, goes back around the back to shift again to her breed form.
There's a scuffle of sounds inside, before a few moments pass and the front door opens, the scent of mold and mildew comes out with a rush of more pot smoke as the dark inside is revealed. There's no light as a female face appears, the woman asking "What do you want? I don't have any money for your charity." her eyes are bloodshot.
Kaz inhales, to start talking, before the woman speaks, and then deflates as she does speak. "Money isn't necessary!" she says, in that 'you broke my spiel' tone. "We're doing an informational canvassing on various environmentally related proposals before the state legislature; you don't have to contribute, we just want to get the message out."
The woman just looks at Kaz for a few moments long. "I don't care. Really. Go harass the rich people in the city, and leave me to my peace." she looks ready to close the door in Kaz's face as she turns from the door.
"But ma'am," Kaz says, slightly more urgently, "I have petitions. It only takes minutes to take a look, in exchange for untold benefits for the state and possibly the country."
Yi comes back around from behind the small shed, staying relatively out of view but coming just enough so that Kaz can see her. She nods with an all-clear kind of signal.
The woman says simply "Stay there a moment." before slamming shut the door in Kaz's face. given a few moments, she returns and opens the door, the single barrel of a sawed off shotgun in poor repair pointing at Kaz's chest. "Let me make this clear. Go. Away."
Kaz fakes looking scared out of her mind quite well. "It's just a petition!" she wails, before hotfooting it off the woman's porch and back down the driveway.
Yi jumps a little with the door slam, retreating behind the side wall for a moment. She listens in on the next conversation and then waits as Kaz makes her retreat.
The woman watches Kaz run away, as she starts sniffing the air. A moment later, the door closes again as she disappears back inside.
Kaz heads down the driveway and off into the woods.
Yi waits, hidden beside the wall of the house and waiting until the door closes again before she too heads to intercept Kaz. The ragabash meets up with her. "That was all?" she asks dubiously.
The Gazebo-shack stands undefeated. Ready to ward off the next warrior that would dare take...it's...treasure...
Kaz mutters, "Geez, paranoid much?" from some distance away. "Yeah. Vera wanted to know where she lives, so she can corral her as she sees fit, I suppose. You wanna see if we can get Umbral? I wanna see if she's planted stuff thattaway."
"How do we know this is her for certain," Yi queries with a glance back towards the shack. "Unless we perform the Questing Stone, or question her to make sure." She turns back to the galliard. "But yes, let us go to the Shadow first. Check that."
There's a treestump not too far off, with pooled water sitting in the stump. There's enough there that a garou can use it to step sideways.
Kaz immediately starts chanting her name quietly, while getting a string and a cigarrette out of her pocket and tying cigarrette to string. This takes a few mintutes, as she chants. "I checked earlier," she mutters, once the Rite takes hold, "But yeah, gotta make positive."
Yi in the meanwhile as Kaz performs the rite, concentrates on making sure the area is clear. She nods in silence, waiting for the results of the chant.
The area is clear, and eventually the rite goes as planned, pointing out that the woman inside is indeed Tonya Spackleheimer.
Kaz drops the "stone" fairly soon afterwards back into her pocket. "Ok, c'mon, let's do a lil' check." She glances around for hidden watchers and heads over into the Shadow, falling into crinos immediately after reaching over.
Yi likewise nods with the successful ID. She steps sideways after Kaz, lingering in her breed form when they enter the Umbra.
The shadow is a whee bit different. It's not the abundance of spirits like the bawn, but there are a few friendly spirits hanging about, really small things really. Mostly tiny insect spirits, but there's also a seeming plant spirit out back and a squirrel out front, making it's way about. The more surprising thing is that the shack isn't as ruined as it is in the real world. Instead, all across the wooden walls are claw marks. Claw marks that tell a story there. The biggest runes claiming the shack to belong to Tonya Spackleheimer, Bone Gnawer Ahroun, known as ~Lives-among-friends~. And Jack Spackleheimer, Get of Fenris Kin.
Kaz blinks as she gets closer. ~Huh,~ is all she says. She almost doesn't sound surprised. Almost.
Yi, on the other hand, does look a little surprised. "Bone Gnawer?" She reaches up, but refrains from touching. Instead, she goes about reading the rest of the runes, circling around the shed again. And when she comes back around, she asks the galliard, "What now? Should we... should we ask?"
Kaz shakes her head, after a moment. ~Found says she's Ronin. So this stuff-- is former stuff. But we can speak f'her t'Culls-the-Herd, at least some. Since she's a former relative.~
The runes tell of everything of thier lives, Jack being born to a good garou family. Strong in his dedication to the Get, and of Tonya's rite of passage as a bone gnawer. That she had help from other gnawers in her rite, slaying a major bane in her time. The stories continue, showing the point where Jacob spacklheimer, Bone Gnawer kin was born, and then Matt Spackleheimer, Bone Gnawer Galliard was born. After that though...all the runes end.
"The last I spoke with the cub, he wanted to be a Shadow Lord," Yi remarks with a little edge of distaste creeping into her tone. "But after finding this?" She gestures at the spirit shack. "I wonder what she did. I wonder about her story."
Kaz eyes the end of the runes, and then sighs. ~Aright, we're outta here.~ She adds, before she leaves, ~He's figured out just why Lords ain't gonna work for him. He's gonna think about the Get. And if that don't work... I think we oughta think about takin' him. Even if he ain't a City guy.~
The Spirit-Gazebo dosn't move. It stands there!
Yi shakes her head again. "The Get? I suppose. But we should still find out why she is Ronin, shouldn't we? Especially after meeting Matt, she told him his father was the bad one. Killed him, he said."
Kaz says, ~Depends,~ and shifts back into homid, before slipping over to the Realm. Once they're across, she goes on, "If we just wanna run her outta town, we don't gotta know shit. And me, I'm kinda in favor of that, because she was an abusive asshole. If we want to try and... reclaim her for the Garou Nation--" She sounds a bit sour at this phrasing, but goes on, "Then I guess we should find out why, yeah."
The Spirit-Gazebo melts away to the Gazebo. It stands there, valiant as before!
Yi waits until they've come across the other side again before saying what's on her mind. "Kaz," she says softly, "I'm not worried about taking her back. I'm worried that these reports of Black Spiral Dancers will find her. I'm worried she will be bitter enough to... to join them. She does not smell of the Wyrm, I guess, but that does not stop them. Right?"
Kaz looks sour. Again. Some more. "Yeah. It doesn't. They might just off her, but... Really, I'd rather help her out. If she /wants/ to be helped out. It... the way Matt talks about her, I bet she doesn't. But..." She sighs. "Gotta /try/, prob'ly."
Nodding slowly, Yi looks back in the direction of the shed. "At least make her an offer. If she wants help, she might be able to provide some help for us in return."
Kaz says, "I ain't doin' nothin' til we talk to Vera. But yeah. Once we do that... We can improvise."
"It would be best if we could watch her home a while," Yi notes, "but I am needed back on the bawn. Vera can deal with this, I suppose."
Kaz says, slowly, "Yeah. Maybe we could stick Masao on it. Or Kevin."
Yi lets go of a slow breath. "Agreed. Either way, I do not know what becomes of Ronin who are found out. Besides being driven away. Either that... or embraced as was with Grey."
Kaz says, "Well. If she was Gnawer to begin with..." She trails off. "Maybe she can be again. I just... Well, I dunno." She exhales a breath. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."
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