The War Council - July 23rd,
2002
Ian's making an effort to
ignore Maddy, and just pay attention to
Leo.
Maddy glances at Jenna with a dull, sleepy
interest.
Dylan's brow knits at what Jenna
mutters to him, nodding torwards her before going silent and looking torwards
Leo.
Leo glances around the room. He gets a
focused look, then says, "Very well. By now all of you have heard that I have
taken the position of War Leader until Tsukikage-rhya returns from her quest to
challenge an Elder of the Shadow Lords for rank. She could return later today,
or months from now. I'm told that Adren challenges are quite strenuous. After
the attack on the Healing Caern, which has left it damaged and in pain, we are
now in a state of war. Our efforts to return the beast under the volcanos into
slumber must be redoubled, but now with urgency, as the Wyrm now knows of our
efforts and has already quite effectively worked to hinder them. Our first order
of business will be the reorganization of the Sept. Then we will meet and devise
a strategy to combat the Wyrm and restore the bane into slumber. Is that
clear/"
Maddy nods to Leo, rubbing idly at one
eye.
Ian nods, then sneaks a few more bites of
food.
Irma lets out a low growl and she nods to
Leo's words.
Jenna nods
quietly.
Dylan remains silent, following the
crowd with a nod of his own.
Leo gruffly nods.
"Very well. Our first order of business is the three guests on our protectorate.
Walks-on-Water-yuf," He glances at Gerald, "Since you have successfully
challenged for Rank, you get more responsibilities. I charge you with testing
their merit. Work with Fire's-Promise to see if their story holds true, and find
if they are willing to be loyal. Will you take
this?"
Irma's dark expression becomes totally
unreadable as she listens. Her arms are crossed over her chest and she slowly
scans the Caern for any signs of trouble or encroachment as she
listens.
Gerald nods gravely and says, "I will,
Leo-rhya."
Dylan glances to Gerald briefly, brow
rising. He nods before looking back to Leo.
Leo
glances at Irma. He furrows his brow for a
second.
Greta comes in from New
Dawn.
Greta has
arrived.
Maddy uses Ian as a crutch to hop up on
the safe, where she sits hunched over her coffee as if it were a warming fire.
She glances at the door and offers Greta a tired smile, motioning towards the
coffee that's left.
Dylan stands near the door,
near Jenna. He glances up as Greta enters, a small smile on his lips. He nods to
her, then makes his way over torwards
Gerald.
Jenna smiles over to Greta as she comes
down the stairs.
Leo peers at Irma for a second.
He shrugs and turns away. "Next issue is of the Bastet, Raeth. Jenna, you said
you spoke with him. Perhaps you'd like to tell the Sept what his wishes
are?"
Gerald eyes Dylan sidelong, and he smiles
ever so slightly. Then his attention returns to
Leo.
Greta didn't expect the crowd, that's for
certain. She closes the door hastily, and doesn't speak, she just freezes inside
the cavernous space, waiting, watching, and looking more than a little hesitant.
A little too much white is showing around her
eyes.
Ian frowns, just slightly, at the mention
of Raeth. Then he puts some more burrito paste in his
mouth.
Maddy sips her coffee, sitting up
straighter.
Irma turns her dark gaze to Greta and
she studies her for a long moment.
Jenna stands
up from her seated position, leaving the steaming coffee sitting on the ground
in a small hollow of dirt. "His position is one of a loner. He doesn't follow
Rose or her people, he says they can barely be in the same city most of the
time. He is willing for me to be Liason between he and Leo-rhya. He will stand
and defend his area, but he is only one, he will fight beside us, but not as one
of the Pack. He would like to bring the rift between the Bete and the Garou to a
close and I said I would help if that is possible. I also gave him money for a
phone, he has my number should he see anything that needs reporting when our
eyes are not on the Volcano." She glances to Leo for a moment. "He knows of the
Ritual"
Leo nods. "In the past we have had Bete
as allies of the Sept. In fact, Rose was such an ally at one point." He turns to
the group. "I open up this issue to the group. What are your opinions on
this?"
Gerald grumbles, "So long as they don't
overstep their bounds, it's better to have an ally than an
enemy."
Dylan glances from Gerald, back to Leo. A
small frown touches his lips before he clears his throat. "I know very little of
the cats, other than what I was told by my Uncle, and what you yourself have
told me Leo-rhya. However, I would not wish to treat one of them as equal unless
they followed the Litany as we do. I suppose it all depends on what you mean by
alliance."
Ian frowns lightly as he says it, "I
don't approve of Raeth, but none of my personal experience with him is relevant
to the circumstances. If he thinks he's man enough to die for the cause, by all
means, let him prove himself."
Irma's dark
expression shows no sign of change. She continues to let her black gaze linger
on Greta, studying her. She doesn't seem to care to speak up on the subject at
hand.
Maddy shrugs. "I say we can use all the
help we can get. And we're all on the same side anyway. Or supposed to be." She
eyes Ian's hair, smoothing down a cowlick idly. "Might as well at least try to
act like it." She leans in and whispers to
him.
Leo nods at those who have given their
opinions so far. He glances at Irma and Jenna. He follows Irma's look over to
Greta, and nods to her. "Welcome to the War Council, Theurge," he
rumbles.
Jenna says "Anyone that can walk on
stickers without shoes, has my vote."
Dylan's
frown grows at the others answers, then he says, "Let him prove himself before
we share any information. We're not to share anything with newly arrive Garou or
kin, I see very little reason to do so with this cat until he's proven he can be
trusted."
Jenna says "I only shared about the
volcano of what he mostly knew, but that the Wyrm gathered to fight, that seemed
to bring his rage to the surface, someone remind me about full moon's
again."
Greta dips her head to Leo, offering up a
brief but silent greeting and moving to somewhere near the edge of the group.
She gives everyone plenty of space. After Dylan's comment she nods and adds her
piece. "As long as both he and we understand the limits to what having an Ally
means..and as long as he speaks truth and is free of taint, if the Leader deems
it appropriate I have no arguments."
Leo
considers this, then nods. He frowns, then says, "I have fought along side the
Bastet and against them in the past. They are fierce, mysterious, aggrivating,
but honorable in their own way. I have dealt with this Raeth as well, given him
more information that I would normally and have been insulted that I did not
divulge all of our secrets to him. His self-righteous indignation did not sit
well with me. If the Sept wishes it, we will ally with him, but he is to follow
our lead in this, and he is to only gain as much information as we choose to
give to him. He will not know the location of our caerns and he will not be
privy to our council. Since Jenna has opened a dialogue with him, she will
relate this to him. Explain to him that we have had trouble with his kind
before. That it is in our best interests to remain guarded, and as he proves
himself, the relationship will continue to
grow."
Dylan glances to Jenna at Leo's words, the
frown stuck to his features. He says nothing
however.
Jenna nods in response to Leo and
reseats herself.
Gerald nods curtly and keeps
quiet.
Leo glances around. "Next in order is the
issue of battlefield appointments. Fire's-Promise, will you step
forward?"
Irma remains silent. Her eyes narrow as
she watches Greta for another long moment, before she returns to scanning the
Caern for any signs of intrusion, or any warning signs from the Owl spirits. She
keeps returning her gaze to Greta now and again
though.
Dylan blinks as he is addressed, his
attention snapping back to Leo as the frown is smoothed from his features. He
does as ordered, walking torwards Leo, stopping a few steps away. "Yes
rhya..?"
Ian looks at Irma, then at Greta, then
to Dylan. Then back at Leo. He scrapes the bottom of his takeout
box.
Leo gives him a steely look. "By the powers
granted to me as War Leader, I name you both Truthcatcher and acting Master of
the Rite. From this day forth, you shall mediate arguments and keep the Sept
focused on our goals. I expect you to do such a good job that the Sept
leadership shall not hear of a dispute save for your meetings to inform the
Alpha and or Beta of the goings on, and your judgements. You will hold Master of
the Challenge until a Half-Moon comes along who is worthy to take it. Will you
take these offices?"
Jenna listens, her eyes
going to Dylan with a slow blink.
Gerald arches a
brow as he looks Dylan over. Still with the keeping
quiet.
Maddy shakes her head, sipping her
coffee.
Dylan's brow shoots up as both jobs are
laid on him, forgetting himself for a moment, his gaze almost meeting Leo's.
Self preservation wins out however and he averts them just in time with a deep
nod, almost a bow or respect. "Yes, rhya. I will perform both tasks as honorably
and wise as I am able. I will not fail." He pauses, then says "I've returned
from my old mentor, and after time to think, I've brought with me judgement for
that which you requested. Whenever you'd like, I'd like to share that judgement
with the rest of the sept."
Ian smiles just a
bit, when Dylan accepts, he gives a golf clap. A smack, smack, smack of leather
on leather.
Ian frowns, slightly, however, after
Dylan's pause.
Jenna keeps a grim watch on Dylan
at his last words.
Maddy blinks, nodding to Ian.
She looks at Dylan again.
Greta musters the
faintest slip of a smile as the proceedings continue. Finally, her eyes turn to
Irma for a moment, noticing the occasional attention. Just as fast she faces
forward again, folding her arms across her chest, utterly failing to look
casual.
Leo nods to Dylan. "Very well. We will
hear you speak when I am done with appointments. The next appointment is my own.
I appoint myself as warder of the Caern of Visions until another Garou is deemed
worthy to take that responsibility. I swear an oath that I shall defend this
caern with my life, if it suffers I too will suffer." He pauses, grimacing with
that, looking faintly pained, though it's obvious he tries to hide this
expression. He then turns to Greta. "Burns-with-Silence, will you speak for your
pack and tribe sister, Moirai's Wrath?"
Dylan
nods respectfully to Leo once more, turning to walk back torwards Gerald. He
glances up briefly at Greta as her name and his other packmate are mentioned,
then settles in beside Gerald to look back at
Leo.
Gerald watches Dylan approach, flashing him
a brief, but brilliant and cheery grin.
Startled.
That's the word for Greta's initial reaction, though it's only for a moment or
two. Greta's eyes widen again, just a little, but she nods, and her voice comes
in reply with remarkable force and clarity. "I know her heart as I know my own.
I will, Rhya."
Leo nods, gruffly. "Then pass on
to her that she has been appointed the Warder of the Caern of Healing. She will
allow no act of violence to cross it's sacred grove unless in defense against a
Wyrm attack, and she will do whatever it takes and learn whatever she needs to
in order to fulfil this. If the caern dies, she dies. If the caern sickens, she
too will sicken. She is to report to me as soon as possible to speak of
this."
Irma continues to scan the Caern with a
watchful eye, actively searching the perimeter of the space and the area above
for the slightest signs of disturbance. She seems to still absorb what is being
said around her.
Dylan leans back against the
wall near Gerald. He smiles at Min's appointment, though he doesn't look all
that shocked at it as he nods his unnecessary
approval.
Maddy blinks at that, narrowing her
eyes as she studies Leo. She then drains her
coffee.
Ian golf claps again for Leo, then again
for Min. He does seem to be taking it seriously,
though.
Gerald nods approvingly, still doing that
quiet thing. It seems to be working for
him.
Greta remains solemn. "Moirai's Wrath holds
no task so dear as the defense of the Caern. In her name, done and done. Your
words will reach her unchanged, and she will speak with you." When she falls
silent again, she closes her eyes a moment, inhaling
deeply.
Leo nods. "Good." He turns to the
direction of the safe. "Hotpaws of the GlassWalkers, step
forward."
Maddy glances at Ian, then back at
Leo.
Dylan glances to Greta, then motions her
over torwards her packmates with a proud
smile.
Jenna finally begins to enjoy the coffee
now that it has cooled. She drinks quietly and watches the
proceedings.
Ian jerks himself vertical, from
where he was leaning against the safe. He looks nervous as he walks forwards,
stopping a few feet in front of Leo, looking to one side and down,
"Sir!"
Leo says to Ian, "I appoint you to the
office of Master of the Howl. I also charge you with a special task that may
take you some time, and involve the other Moon Dancers should this Sept be
blessed with them. I have noticed that some of the Garou who enter this Sept
know only of duty, while others," and he gives a pointed look to Irma, "Know
only of war. But we Garou are more than that, we have traditions that reach back
to the dawn of time. The successive decimation of the Sept of the Forgotten in
the past has all but destroyed this Sept's unique traditions, thus it is to you
that I charge with bringing these back, and when necessary, creating new ones.
We are a proud, gregarious people. Find a role for stories once more in this
Sept. Will you accept these appointments?"
Ian
nods gravely, "I will, Sir. I am honored."
Leo
grunts. "Good." He turns to Irma. "Scent of Red Rain, step
forward."
Ian turns, sharply. He walks back to
the safe looking honored, and, well, relieved. He grabs his coffee and takes a
deep gulp.
Maddy offers Ian and smile and a golf
clap.
Dylan motions Greta over torwards her
packmates once more, a small frown on his lips. As he hears Leo's appointment of
Ian, he glances over, brow rising with a smile. He nods torwards Ian, an
approving yet curious look to him.
If Irma
catches Leo's pointed nod in her direction, she shows no sign of it. But, when
he speaks to her directly, she turns her eyes from scanning the shadows and she
steps forward, standing before him solidly. Her eyes are cast at the proper
distance below Leo's gaze. "As you command, Rhya," she says in a low, gravely
voice.
Leo rumbles, "Scent of Red Rain, I appoint
you to the title of Wyrmfoe. Of all the positions I have granted, you are the
least suitable. You have shown yourself to have been trained an effective
warrior, but little more. As Wyrmfoe you will aid and advise the Sept Leadership
in the strategy of the attack, and inspire us to further glory. That means more
than boasts of how you never sleep and how you will fight until you die. We are
small and spread thin. I have no doubts in your ability to inspire us to fight,
but as Wyrmfoe you must learn to think less like a warrior and more like a
general. Will you accept this position?"
Greta
keeps her neutral expression, and her silence, and edges slowly around the
larger bulk of the group to where Dylan
stands.
Gerald turns his attention to Irma
intently.
Dylan rocks back on his heels at the
latest appointment, watching for a reaction
intently.
Irma does not answer Leo immediately.
There is a long pause as she stands there before him, still as a statue, eyes
locked where they were when she stepped up to him. Her expression darkens, like
a gray shadow creeping over the moon. Just about the time when the pause would
become awkward for most social situations, Irma replies in her dark tone, "I
accept, Rhya." Her answer seems not to be given lightly or simply without
thought. Her words come out evenly, with a clear resolve and seriousness behind
them.
Leo allows a brief smile, then says.
"Good." He turns, searching Greta out again. "Burns-with-Silence, step
forward."
Dylan turns a proud, yet curious glance
on Greta as she's called out. His lips curl into an encouraging
smile.
Greta freezes in mid-step when she's
addressed, and very nearly topples over, but she has grace enough to make it
almost look like it was intentional. She pads forward, toward Leo, nervousness
showing in her gait.
Leo says to Greta, "You are
to assume responsibility for Caller of the Wyld for the Healing Caern. You will
also give word to my packmate Whispers-with-Spirits that he will be the Caller
of the Wyld for the Visions Caern. With this role you will maintain contact and
knowledge of the totem of the caerns and the spirits of the caern. You will also
work to research into where the pathstones of the caerns are. Should there be
another attack, I want to be able to instantly moonbridge from one caern to
another to defend it. Also, both you and Whispers-With-Spirits will assume
acting responsibility as Master of the Rite, and will begin to work towards any
gaps in learning you might have to fulfil that office. Will you accept these
tasks?"
Greta dips her head to Leo, a sharp bow.
"I will. In all of these, I will."
Leo nods,
gruffly. He turns to Gerald. "Finally, you. As a Fostern and a Ragabash, I
expect you to fulfil any and all of the other roles as they come up. If someone
is not available to fulfil their duty, you will do your best fulfil that role
until they can. Is that clear?"
Gerald tips off a
jaunty salute Leo's way as he replies gruffly, "Clear as Evian,
Leo-rhya."
Dylan smiles proudly torwards Greta,
then glances to Gerald briefly at Leo's words for him, the smile
remaining.
Leo nods, "Great. That concludes that.
Now on to pressing business. Hotpaws, I believe you witnessed the attack. Will
you inform the Sept what happened?"
Dee comes in
from New Dawn.
Dee has
arrived.
Ian nods, standing up straight again. He
begins slowly, "Myself and Ben were talking in the Glade, and Philomina had just
returned from patrol when the guardians.. the bears, roared a warning." He
smiles slightly, "Min ran up, questioning us, when five figures stepped out of
the darkness."
Jenna listens intently to Ian's
words.
Leo listens, furrowing his brow. He
reaches up to rub his stubbly chin. He spies Dee entering out of the corner of
his eye, and faintly nods to her.
Maddy watches
the back of Ian's head, fiddling with her empty cup. She finally looks
awake.
Dylan listens to Ian quietly, smile
turning down into a dark frown at the five figures stepping from the
darkness.
Dee creeps in and moves to stand
somewhere behind Jenna, though she does incline her head once to Leo en
route.
Jenna notes Dee and she squeezes her hand
with a faint smile.
Ian sips his coffee and
continues, "They came into the glade under cover of the New Moon. Moving
quickly, the five fallen Garou spread out. Two were attacked by the guardian
spirits as the bears materialized. I took one, though Olivia prooved to be
fairly innefectual without proper ammunition. Ben took one, and Min took one,
the leader."
Irma listens carefully to the
recounting of the battle.
Jenna drops her gaze to
the ground at the wording of the attacks, her face paling
slightly.
Dylan's frown loses some of it's
darkness as confusion settles in his eyes as Ian's
re-telling.
Leo folds his arms, listening, his
expression emotionless. He keeps his head tilted to one side, glancing away from
Ian.
Gerald listens intently, still not
talking.
Ian says "Ben got in first blood,
scoring a deep gash on his target. Min and I started out pretty innefectual, the
bears did steady amounts of damage to theirs. One of the Dancers, I believe, the
leader, released a howl full of the pain and degredation of the Wyrm, causing
one of the bears to cower. But not before it got it's kill in. At that point,
mine was pretty much incapacitated, Bens' was fairly fucked up, and the leader,
had made it to the stones where the drum was held. He ran right to it, knew
exactly where it was."
Gerald grimaces, then
slams his fist down on the wall he leans upon in futile
frustration.
Maddy frowns deeply at this,
glancing at Gerald, then back at Ian. A slight flash of... something, crosses
her face.
Dylan growls quietly, the sound deep in
his throat. His attention jerks to Gerald stiffly at the sound of his fist
connecting with the wall before he returns his attention to
Ian.
Leo narrows his eyes, right at the part
where the leader takes the drum. He takes a deep
breath.
Jenna steps back once, closer to Dee as
she listens. Her features pinch slightly at the
information.
Dee becomes even quieter, tenser and
more attentive if possible. Her glance briefly darts around and then back to
Ian. That Jenna might draw closer at this juncture doesn't seem at all
unwelcome.
Ian continues, "He escaped, across the
Gauntlet, the remaining two, though Min was wounded, and one bear spirit seemed
cowed, were no threat to Min. Ben and I stepped over to persue the dancer with
the drum." He frowns, "It was then, when the attack's full nature was evident.
There were more than two dozen Wyrm spirits ravaging the Caern. Or, rather, at
that point, making sure the Dancer with the drum could escape. Many of the Gaian
spirits lay dead or dying. We lept up to follow, but I was attacked by a flying
spirit. Some kind of Wyrm harpy. I sent Ben after the departing ravagers, while
I handled the harpy as well as the other flying
spirits."
Jenna makes a little sound in her
throat at the word of the spirits dying or
dead.
Leo blinks, as if piecing things together
in his mind.
Irma takes all of this in, and her
gaze darkens with each passing word. Rage can be seen slowly boiling up into her
black eyes and her teeth begin to grit together. She remains utterly silent
though.
Dee's hand is a bit white-knuckled on
Jenna's, who she draws gently closer to offer a half-hug that will still let
them both pay strict attention.
Maddy leans
forward as if to touch Ian's back, but refrains, fiddling with her necklace
instead.
Gerald broods, scowling at
Ian.
Ian sips some more coffee. He looks up from
the ground, "I destroyed them," he looks like he has a foul taste in his mouth,
"then crossed back over, to check on Min. Mister Calus had arrived by then,
thankfully hearing my howl earlier. He and I crossed back over, after the, eh,
prisoner died. And ended up at the volcano, where Koko informed us Ben and the
spirits had gone. There was no sign of Ben there, though, the volcano had a
glow, as if alive. And there were several sentries evident, though, none of them
Garou, all spirits." He looks to Leo, "It is speculation, sir, but from what
I've seen, I suspect only one other Pack. No more than two. But, definately more
powerful than the suicide pack."
Leo nods,
gruffly. He takes over. "Walks-on-Water-yuf, and the Silver Fang Philodox, the
guest, heard the call as well." He turns to Gerald. "What did you learn after we
left?"
Dylan's brow rises at Ian's speculation,
curiosity lightening his dark demeanor a
little.
Gerald grits his teeth as he says
angrily, "I learned they were the ones I had hunted, Leo-rhya. The comrades of
the one I killed some years ago, who have hunted my family since my childhood.
They followed someone here, a woman -- I didn't get a name. By 'here' I assume
the caern, since they have already been here, at least as far back as nineteen
years ago, when they killed my brother. It was in his grave that I found the
drum, and they knew right where it was. Make of that what you will,
Leo-rhya."
There is soft rustling feathers, the
beat of wings, and then the Gauntlet parts. Ben drops down from a position above
the ground by several feet, landing unceremoniously onto one knee and both
palms. Immediately he glances to and fro, and assumes an out-of-the-way position
near Leo and Ian and Irma. However, he perks up at the
conversation.
Leo nods to Gerald. "I will now
relate the intelligence I gathered in the old Caern of
War."
Gerald nods to Leo and falls silent.
Broodily silent.
Jenna pulls in a breath at
Gerald's words. Her fingers grow tighter on
Dee's.
Dee's tautly chilled attention fixes on
Gerald and then on Leo, seeming unaware of much else other than Jenna, who she
gives a brief squeeze about the shoulders.
Ian
glances at Ben, sips his coffee, then looks to Leo,
listening.
Maddy gets that look again, hugging
herself and looking from Ian, to Gerald, to
Leo.
Ben looks around at everyone, noting each
person's facial expressions, and ends up with his gaze on Leo as
well.
Dylan listens to each as they tell their
part of the tale, his gaze snapping away for a moment at Ben's sudden
appearance. He nods over to the newcomer before looking back to Leo, waiting to
hear his words.
Leo turns to nod to Ben for some
reason, stepping aside to allow his packmate to stand next to him. "It is I who
discovered the beast waking underneath the volcanos, long ago. I know that dead
caern like the back of my hand, I have examined every part of it. Using Owl's
grace I was able to sneak past the guardian banes and see what has become of it.
It is in the process of being more and more corrupted. No Spirals wait there,
though. I was able to overhear banes speaking of the success of the attack - it
was indeed a suicide attack, and the drum was definitely to be used to keep it
asleep, not waken it. Evidence enough that there is a hive somewhere in the
city, on our protectorate. Whether the drum is still around, or has been
destroyed, I do not know. Judging from the spirits there, we could retake the
caern if we choose, and we may need to - but we cannot hold it and hold the
caerns we protect. And now our Enemy knows the location of both, and can strike
at any time." He gets a grave look.
Irma absorbs
Leo's words with narrowing eyes. Her expression is still like stone, though Rage
boils behind her dark gaze.
Ben looks deeply
troubled and seems to nod against his own
will.
Dylan shakes his head slowly, his gaze
dropping to the ground as he broods over everything he's
heard.
Jenna tries a smile to Dee in hope, but it
fails miserably.
Leo turns to Ben.
"Whispers-with-Spirits, glad you could make it. Do you have anything to
add?"
Dee keeps hold of Jenna's hand and keeps
her arm about the taller girl's shoulders. Her expression is grave, there's a
lot of it going around. Briefly, she touches her free hand to the blonde's cheek
as she remains otherwise still.
Ian hands Ben a
cup of still-warm coffee.
Ben studies Leo for a
moment, then bows his head respectfully to his pack Alpha. He seems to nod
twice, then turns and flashes Gerald a brief sidelong glance before says softly,
"I do, though I'm not sure how useful the information is. This council will have
to decide what to do with the knowledge. I make my guess that the Drum isn't
destroyed. I have no proof, but every fiber of my being tells me that the Black
Spiral Dancers want it for some other, nefarious purpose..." he takes the coffee
from Ian with a thankful smile and has a tiny sip just to wet his throat.
"Gerald-rhya will be able to make more sense of this than I can, maybe. He has
fought these before."
Leo nods. He turns to
Hotpaws. "I have one question: When I asked you to retrieve the items and put
them in the safe after the fight, did you find the sewing kit in the caern of
healing as well?"
Gerald darts Ben a withering
look. He nods, scowling as he looks away, all steely-eyed and
mean.
Ian nods, "It took awhile, but, yes, I
found it. It was still in there, when I checked this morning." He pats the
safe.
Leo rumbles. "Interesting." He thinks for a
moment, then says, "I believe that the Spirals were acting, then, on old
information, or they would have tried to recover both items. The information
they gathered was before we had recovered the sewing kit, or they would have
taken both."
Ben says to everyone, but mainly
looking at Leo, "I think I know where they took the
Drum."
Dylan glances from Ben to Gerald, then
over to Ian as Leo speaks to him. He lets out a small sigh of relief that the
sewing kit was found.
Leo turns to Ben. "You do?"
he asks, blinking.
Maddy blinks at Ben's
pronunciation, sitting up straight and looking directly at him for the first
time.
Irma's dark gaze snaps to Ben at hearing
his words.
Gerald regards Ben
expectantly.
Jenna watches Ben now, her arm going
around her friend's shoulders in waiting for those
words.
Ben nods gravely. "The airts - spiritual
'trails' - left behind by the Banes and the Black Spiral thief led to a dark
part of the western desert. I followed it as far as I dared. There is one person
here..." he pauses, turning toward Gerald slowly without meeting his gaze "...
who has been there."
Ben says "Or so the spirits
told me."
Dylan looks back to Gerald, his brow
rising non-accusingly.
Gerald seethes. His hands
clench at his sides, and the anger just rolls off of him palpably. "I've been
there," he says flatly.
Jenna sets her jaw
tightly at the words, but her glance is on Ben for a
moment.
Ben finally looks up at the Ragabash.
"You could lead us," he suggests softly.
Jenna
says "No.." The word slips out before she can stop
it."
Leo nods to Gerald. "Good," he says
emotionlessly. "You could-" He stops. He /looks/ at Ben.
"Whispers-with-Spirits?"
Gerald nods slowly. "In
my sleep with both eyes closed. I could."
Leo
growls. "Your position here is to advise, not direct. For the rest of this
meeting, you do not speak unless I tell you to. Am I
/clear/?"
Ben blanches. "I... I'm sorry." He
turns to Leo a little flushed. "Isn't that what we want, Leo-rhya? Have I spoken
too soon?"
Leo growls. "We do not want disarray.
We do not want Cliaths to lose their sense of position. Now." He turns back to
Gerald. "We'll keep this information. You'll consult with Scent-of-Red-Rain and
I after this about forming an attack to reclaim the drum. Back to my original
point, before I was interrupted."
Gerald nods to
Leo sharply. Not a word from him.
Ben frowns and
bites his lip after saying that. He stares at Leo without malice, but something
else... something more indefinable, glows in his
eyes.
Ian pats Ben gently on the arm, still
paying attention to Leo.
Leo asks Gerald. "What
exactly did the Spiral say before dying, in the
attack?"
Irma looks over to Gerald and she
crosses her arms, giving the other a nod before she turns her gaze back to
Leo.
Gerald arches a brow quizzically. "The one I
killed before, or the one in the Caern? The latter said, of the woman in
question, she was just a hole, like they all are, and that she led him right
here. Someone we know and trust." He says the words evenly, but he doesn't seem
terribly pleased with them.
Ben peers over toward
Maddy for some reason.
Ben looks back to Leo and
Gerald.
Jenna blinks at Gerald in
confusion.
Leo mms. "A hole," he says. He looks
thoughtful. "When was the drum placed in the healing
caern?"
Gerald replies, "Recently, Leo-rhya.
Within the past month or so, I would
say."
Dylan's features darken considerably at
Gerald's words, finally understanding what he meant by 'lead' earlier. His eyes
too wander torwards Maddy for some reason before he drops his gaze to his feet,
shaking his head as if he disagrees with
himself.
Leo nods. "Before the incident regarding
the red-haired woman and the recovery of the sewing
kit?"
Gerald shakes his head and says, "No, I
think that incident is what prompted Tsukikage-rhya to bring the keys to the
caern for safe-keeping."
Leo turns to Ben.
"Whispers-with-Spirits, when Maddy was cleansed of the possessed bane, was the
drum in the healing caern?"
Ben peers at...
past... behind Leo. He cocks his head to the side, as if picking up on an
inaudible sound. His lips move, but no sound words come
out.
Gerald darts a glance toward Ben.
"Leo-rhya," he says in an undertone, then apparently thinks better of cutting
in, and falls quiet.
Leo glances away from Ben,
bahing. He turns to Gerald. "Yes?"
Jenna watches
Ben quietly as he speaks with something only he can see. The fascination on her
face is almost animated.
"Exactly!" Ben whispers
to Leo's shadow.
Ian elbows
Ben.
Ben peers around,
"Huh?"
Ben looks at
Ian.
Dylan looks to Ben at Leo's question, then
back to Gerald, his gaze pausing on Maddy once more for a brief moment en route.
When Ben exclaims, he jerks his attention back over to the metis, brow
furrowing.
Gerald says carefully, "The history of
the drum seems linked with the history of my family, but I tell you this, before
I saw it in my brother's grave, I had never seen it before -- and I knew
everything he had with him that day. I don't know who placed the thing in his
coffin. My injuries were too great, and I wasn't there, but if they found the
drum, consider that they also killed the one who bore it. Their knowledge of it
may extend further back than the past few
months."
Ian mutters to Ben, "... asking if...
was in... caern... Maddy."
Leo nods to Gerald.
"Your son. Did he say how his mother
died?"
Gerald's expression darkens. "Car
accident," he replies succinctly.
Ben scratches
his beard with a thoughtful expression on his face. He nods thankfully to Ian,
and starts to open his mouth, but falls silent since Leo seems to have moved on
to a new line of questioning. He doesn't want to be yelled at for speaking out
of turn again, it seems.
Leo nods, thoughtfully.
He turns back to Ben. "You're back," he says, drily. "Do you know if the drum
was in the caern of healing when Maddy was
cleansed?"
Ben nods. "I do," he admits. "It
wasn't. The Four were kept seperate, until we thought we had them all. The
Misshapen cleansed Maddy's blight before the Drum was moved. The Drum is very
significant. The beats are a rhythym that could wake the
dead."
Jenna listens quietly, shifting from one
foot to the other as she listens.
Leo nods,
grimly. "All right." He turns back to Dylan. "Trutcatcher. We don't have time to
investigate this at this coucil, so I leave it up to you. Figure out how the
compromise in our security happened, report back to
me."
Ben can't stop himself from peering at Maddy
as he listens to Leo.
Dylan turns to look at Leo,
nodding slowly, his gaze thoughtful. "As you wish,
rhya."
Ian surreptitiously gives Maddy a pat on
the backside, and a couple not so surreptitious harsh looks at those who keep
staring at her. Then he looks back to Leo.
Ben
peers at Ian and leans toward him for a
second.
Gerald leans back, folding his arms over
his chest again as he listens.
Jenna glances at
her cold coffee for a moment. Her gaze then slides back to Ben as she smiles
faintly.
Leo turns back. "So, now I want to hear
suggestions on a plan of battle. I want you to keep in mind several things:
First off, the Wyrm likely knows the location of two of our caerns, so we can't
overextend ourselves. We know that the Wyrm has claimed the old caern in the
Volcanos, and we suspect the Drum is still around. Gerald feels he can lead us
to where the drum is."
Leo rumbles. "I'd like to
start with our new WYrmfoe."
Leo turns to
Irma.
Ben peers at Irma, unsurprised by the
declaration of office. He smiles, ruefully, and looks interested in what she has
to say.
Jenna finally releases her hand from
Dee's as it is losing feeling from the tight
gripping.
Irma nods her head to Leo's words and
she says in a dark tone, "I suspect that if the drum has not been destroyed,
then it is being used as bait, to draw our forces form the Caerns we protect and
make them vulnerable. Otherwise, they would have destroyed it already to prevent
us from performing the ritual." She growls and then continues. "However,
retrieval of the drum is essential for our plans at the Volcano. What I would
suggest is a small, surgical strike at the site where the drum is believed to be
held, while the other two Caerns are fortified to protect them in case it is
merely bait for a trap to be sprung on our guarded holy places." She then adds
gruffly, "I think it can be done, as long as the small assault force attacked
with speed and surprise. This is my suggestion
Rhya."
Leo nods. He turns to the rest. "Anyone
have anything to say about this?"
Ian raises a
hand.
Gerald nods to Irma as he listens, then
looks to Leo and lifts his hand.
Leo nods to
Ian.
Dylan starts to speak, then notices Ian's
motion. He stops, letting the galliard speak
first.
Ian grins, "I can get us an airplane. I
doubt there's anything they'd expect less, than garou parachuting in the dead of
night."
Jenna glances to Leo with a small
smile.
Leo blinks, a little confused, but nods.
"Noted." He turns to Gerald. "Yes?"
Gerald says
gruffly, "I think it's important that we induct these new garou, should they
prove trustworthy, as soon as possible. That will give us more people and spread
us less thin. Kevin and Jeff proved their mettle last night in a little field
exercise of sorts. I'll work on getting their stories cleared. That's all I have
to add to my tribemate's plan."
Jenna glances up
and around the caern a moment, looking far too innocent from that little
plan.
Dylan lifts his hand after
Gerald.
Irma adds in a low growl, "I would also
suggest that the exact war plans be kept known only to a small few, until Fire's
Promise-Yuf learns the source of the Wyrm's information on
us."
Leo nods. "I agree with you. Work quickly on
that." He turns to Dylan and nods.
"Truthcatcher."
Ben slowly raises his
hand.
Dylan says, "I actually have a question."
He then looks to Gerald, lowering his gaze respectfully after re-remembering
Gerald's new rank. "This place, in the desert. What is it? Where is
it?"
Gerald glances to Dylan, then to Leo,
inclining his head as he asks, "May I, Rhya?"
Leo
turns to Gerald, expectantly. "Yes."
Ben glances
over at the Ragabash with a dark expression, waiting on
tenterhooks.
Tsukikage comes in from New
Dawn.
Tsukikage has
arrived.
Maddy is very, very quiet, face pale and
stricken as people look from her to the others. She stares at her hands,
clenched tightly in her lap, and doesn't really respond to anything. (OOC gah,
sorry for the inopportune idle)
Gerald says
gravely, "If it is the place I'm thinking of, it's an area of the desert where
my aunt was slaughtered, and my brother and I attacked, an eventually the leader
of these spirals killed, by myself. I've spent some time since then in that area
hunting these four, but they eluded me."
Jenna
makes her way quietly to stand near Gerald.
Ian
glances over as the door opens, spies Tsukikage and says simply and quietly,
"Woof."
Tsukikage heads into the central area
quietly, a concerned look on her face and glances around at those gathered, "I
sorry for my recent absence, I return as soon as I hear what happening..." She
looks over to Leo and pauses, tilting her
head.
Ben smiles at Tsukikage's arrival, though
his gaze is inexorably drawn back to Gerald-rhya for a moment as he speaks. He
looks troubled, curious, and thoughtful all at once. Then he glances back to
Tsukikage and nods simply.
Dylan bobs his head to
Gerald, starting to speak again, then Ian speaks up at the sound of the door
opening. He turns his attention their, his brow shooting up at the sight of
Tsukikage. "Tsukikage-rhya." he says, bowing his head
respectfully.
Jenna turns as well to see the
Alpha, her head bows in respect of her
return.
Tsukikage seems to have a faint air of
nobility within her bearing. Perhaps a remote ancestor was a personage of
note.
Ian salutes Tsukikage, then sips some
coffee.
Maddy glances at the door, then looks at
the cup in her hands.
Leo turns, tensing as the
door opens. When he spies Tsukikage he brightens, opens his mouth excitedly,
closes it, then inclines his head, "'Kage-rhya. You have returned at an
opportune time. A lot has happened in your absence. The Caern of Healing was
attacked by Spirals, who ravaged the caern until it was crippled, but Philomina,
Ian, and Ben, with the aid of the spirits, drove them off. They got what they
wanted, though...the drum is now in their hands. This is a War Council, to plan
the attack to retake the drum."
Gerald glances
over, frowning at the distraction, but then he sees who it is, and he smiles
faintly, nodding to Tsukikage.
Greta is lingering
on the edge of everything, quiet and withdrawn, her attentive eyes moving around
the place with interest, absorbing what people
say.
Tsukikage glances over as Gerald continues a
story, then nods to Leo, "Hai. I heard whispers in my travels." She glances
around the group, a moment, then looks back to Leo, "Rio-yuf, I not know of what
happen while I away. I imagine it you who call this council, so please continue.
I will listen and learn of what happen." She glances around the group, then
steps to the side.
Jenna waits quietly beside
Gerald, as she waits for the stories to be
recanted.
Leo nods respectfully to Tsukikage. "As
you wish, 'Kage-rhya. I will fill you in on the rest afterwards." He turns back
to Dylan. "I believe you were speaking,
Dylan?"
Ben notes Tsukikage's stance and
expression, then turns to listen attentively to the
Truthcatcher.
Dylan glances from Tsukikage back
to Leo, and then to Gerald. "So, then it is just an area of the desert? Not a
cave or anything of the like? How big is this
area?"
Gerald gestures vaguely as he says,
"Miles, but there are a few points of interest. Gravesites, mostly. Leo-rhya,
since I've made it a habit to travel there in the past, I can do so again with
your leave. It won't seem unusual to anyone watching us. While I'm there, I
could look around and try to narrow down where to
look."
Ben nods at Gerald, emphatically. "It's
also..." he pauses.
The expression on the
blonde's features are carefully neutral as she lends her support to the new
Fostern. Her gaze rests on Dylan at his questions, but the pain her family
member feels weighs on her heavily.
Ben falls
totally silently and says nothing else, avoiding Leo's
gaze.
Ian opens his mouth, then bites his
lip.
Dylan bobs his head, glancing back to Leo.
"Thats all I wondered."
Leo nods. He rumbles. "If
you do so, you should appoint someone else to the task of appraising the three
new Garou." He turns to Ben. "Ben, do you have something to
add?"
Ben studies Leo for a moment. He eyes Ian,
and then shakes his head. "No, Lightning Walker-rhya. I'm
sorry."
Leo nods. "All right." He turns back.
"Anything else?" He looks around.
Gerald shakes
his head.
Ben groans inwardly and slowly raises
his hand.
Irma nods her head to Leo's
question.
Leo glances at Ben, giving him a rather
patient look. "Yes?"
Ben breathes a sigh of
relief as he catches Irma's hand rising out of the corner of his eye. "Let
Scent-of-Red-Rain speak first. I will wait," he says, forcing a little smile and
stepping back between her and Ian.
Leo nods.
"Very well." He turns to Irma, expectantly.
Irma
says in a low growl, "I would like to repeat the fact that the Wyrm claim to
have a source -inside- our Sept, and suggest strongly that any information about
our actual plan of attack should be kept to a small number of us, until the
actual implimentation."
Jenna leans closer to
Gerald at the suggestion of the Sept being infiltrated comes around once
more.
Leo nods to Irma. "That's already been
noted, Scent-of-Red-Rain." He turns to Ben. "Do you have something to say before
we move on to the state of the healing
caern?"
Dee remains quietly still, pointedly not
looking at anyone until Irma's point has been covered, as though it would be
unbelievably rude and misconstrued to do
otherwise.
Irma bows her head to Leo and takes a
step back from him.
Ben nods. "Only one thing,
Leo-rhya," he says quietly but in a deep voice. "And it's not a hard or fast
fact, it's just a possibility that I wanted to mention. Remember, what I said
about the Uktena?" He pauses and doesn't really wait for Leo to answer. "It's
very possible that the Black Spiral Dancers have plans for the Drum, other than
bait or fodder. It's possible that they could use it to awaken the
ThunderWyrm."
Ben heaves a sigh and steps
back.
Tsukikage blinks and looks around somewhat
surprised at Irma's words. Then glances around the group
curiously.
Dylan tilts his head as he looks at
Ben, brow knitting.
Gerald eyes Ben oddly. "I had
a vision about those once," he says, then winces and adds, "Sorry, Leo-rhya. I
spoke out of turn."
Jenna grimaces slightly at
Ben's words, having heard the same thing from another not long ago over a
campfire.
Ben didn't seem to mean to make
everyone uncomfortable. He sighs and says, "I could be wrong! It's not
necessarily what they plan, I... I just wanted to voice the possibility. Please,
everyone, we need to keep some hope here. Forget what I just
said."
Leo glances at Ben. "It's possible, but
highly doubtful. In my reconnaisance of the War Caern, I overheard banes
speaking of the suicide attack. The drum was taken to foil is from putting it
back to sleep, not to enable it to wake. And the many Gaian spirits that have
helped us, none of them would have said that it could wake it?" He turns back to
Gerald. "What was your vision?"
Leo growls at
Ben. "For the love of Gaia, Ben. Have a spine. Stick by what you
said!"
Ben growls at Leo. "Stop telling me what
to do!'
Ben
freezes.
Jenna swallows hard at the spoken words,
her hand tightens on Gerald's arm.
Ian winces and
looks at the ground.
Leo turns back to Ben. He
blinks. "You've been ordering me around all day. Now you openly defy me? What
the hell is the matter with you?"
Well, something
had to make Irma's steely expression change tonight. Her jaw
drops.
Gerald starts to speak, then eyes Ben, and
snaps his mouth shut.
Dylan glances back and
forth between the metis and the war leader, his gaze coming to rest on Ben at
his exclamation, eyes widening just a bit in shock. He hesitantly lets his gaze
inch back to Leo, then drops his gaze to the earth, his jaw setting
tightly.
Dee's somewhat sleepy gaze goes to Ben.
Not a whit of sympathy or mercy is seen, but then her face is rather blankly
composed.
Greta makes a surprised squeak, and
then just tries a little harder to blend into the furniture. She watches
everyone with wide eyes.
Tsukikage raises an
eyebrow at Ben's outburst, as a dark expression crosses her face and she shakes
her heard just slightly. She remains silent for now, and looks back to
Leo.
Leo focuses on Ben now, glaring at him, his
voice a low gutteral howl. He twitches, opening his mouth to speak, but
controlling his inner demons. He stares at Ben for a
while.
Ian grits his teeth and continues staring
at the ground.
Ben closes his eyes and takes a
deep breath. His lower lips quivers, his eyes squint shut even tighter. He
cannot seem to muster the courage to even open his eyes and look at Leo, let
alone speak. His whole body trembles.
Irma's
expression of shock soon fades and it is replaced with open displeasure. She
frowns darkly, crossing her arms, but she seems to bite back a growl, remaining
silent.
Pure fury seems to rise from Leo as he
glares at the Theurge. He takes slow steps to him, slowly invading his personal
space. "You dishonor yourself and your pack," he growls to Ben, lowly. "I will
give you one last order tonight. You will /leave/ this council before I /kill/
you. Am. I. Clear?"
Ben says in a foreign
language, "....."
Dee displays no shock, no
displeasure. Her expression is impassive, though she shivers just
slightly.
Leo keeps growling. He's staring down
Ben. He raises an arm up, ready to strike, and slowly
shifts.
Ben backs away slowly, his form changing
rapidly. He howls out something in a strange
tongue.
Whispers-With-Spirits undergoes a
startling transmogrification into the terrifying Wolf-Man form. Any clothes he
was wearing meld with his body during this proccess, becoming lost under a layer
of brown fur.
Jenna lowers her eyes to the ground
as Leo-rhya speaks. They then close tightly at the sound of the
howl.
Tsukikage tenses, watching Leo and Ben
closely, but makes no move to interfere.
Gerald
leans back against the wall, watching silently and
alert.
LightningWalker has his clawed arm raised,
still ready to strike. and says in Garou, "Why haven't you
gone?"
Ian looks up, and over at Whispers. His
face is full of an angry pleading.
Dee's somewhat
businesslike look seeks out Maddy and Jenna. Then she drops back even further
than she stands as it is, her face positively
masklike.
Ian reaches a hand up, grabbing Maddy
by the shoulder and pulls her off the safe and out of the
way.
Dylan's gaze rises at the shifting, his brow
furrowing in distress at the scene before him, displeasure in his eyes. He moves
torwards the kin, making sure to be between them and the facing off
Garou.
Tsukikage studies Leo, then glances Dylan,
and finally lets her gaze fall to Ben closely, she takes one slight step
forward, waiting for his reaction.
Irma's dark
gaze, already filled with a low boiling Rage from the earlier description of the
attack on the Caern, begin to burn more hotly with Gaia's fury. She backs away
from Leo and Ben, leaving a respectful distance between herself and the
conflict. Though, her expression is not even close to as businesslike as Dee's.
It betrays a dark desire to act that is being restrained by force of will and
her respect for the War Leader and
tradition.
Dylan moves to stand between Dee and
the facing off garou, noticing Ian's covering Maddy and Gerald's near
Jenna.
Whispers-With-Spirits backs further away,
against the old ticket booth. "I will go, then," he says in the Garou tongue,
which sounds like nothing but a snarling growl to the
Kinfolk.
Maddy blinks, not apparently having
noticed the big bruhaha. She stumbles, grabbing Ian'ss arm and staring
wide-eyed.
Whispers-With-Spirits turns away and
turns toward the window of the booth. He swings his arm against it, shattering
it, and a shower of slivered broken glass spews outward as he vanishes into the
realm of spirits.
LightningWalker doesn't answer,
just growls. His muscular arm is tensed, the claw raised, ready to strike at
Whispers-With-Spirits. He looks, to those that can understand lupine
expressions, betrayed as much as shamed and angered. He keeps stalking towards
Whispers-with-Spirits. His posture is clear. If the Theurge doesn't leave soon,
he'll strike.
Gerald draws Jenna closer, putting
an arm around her shoulder as he does, and he watches
intently.
Jenna jumps, almost ducking against
Gerald's side as the window of the booth shatters and glass flies outward in all
directions.
Dylan tenses at the shattering of the
glass, staring in a mixture of displeasure and awe at where Ben stood. After a
moment, he sighs, gaze flickering back to Dee before lowering to the ground once
more.
Ian twitches when the ticket booth is
smashed. His face screwing up into unconcealed
rage.
Dee cups the elbows of her crossed arms in
her hands, tensely still otherwise and doing her best 'notice me not' statue
impersonation from the far end of the
room.
LightningWalker gives a frustrated roar,
then slames his clawed hand into one of the supports, letting splinters fly. He
turns, stalking around and glaring at the company. ~My own *packmate*!~ he
howls, sounding pained.
Irma's eyes practically
ignite with Rage as her packmate damages a part of this holy place upon his
exit. She snarls blackly and shows teeth, fighting hard agains the fury burning
hot inside her, fighting for control.
Ian looks
to LightningWalker, somewhere around his waist, stating in as calm a voice as he
can muster. Not very calm, "Please do not damage the Caern any more,
Sir."
Greta makes a low, displeased noise, and
starts to move, to take some action, but then pauses, eyes lifted toward the
unseen sky above. "If it is your will, I will go after him, Rhyas?" There's a
tension to her that's even more pronounced, discomfort clinging 'round her
shoulders.
Jenna whispers, her lips barely
moving. "Gaia..." The splintering of wood almost makes her knees buckle as the
anger emanates around the caern.
Gerald leans
closer to Jenna, murmuring soothingly, "Shh." Outwardly, he seems
calm.
Dylan starts yet again at Leo's release of
rage, looking torwards his elder tensely. He stares at him for a long moment,
then at Ian's words and Irma's growling, he moves back closer to
Dee.
Tsukikage's face darkens as the glass is
shattered and Ben travels across the umbra. A visible frown, mixed with anger
can be seen on her normally composed features. She glances around, her eyes
focused nowhere in particular and calls loudly, "You were asked to leave this
place for now because of your shame. It includes all aspects of this sacred
ground, including the other side." She seems to be squinting as if trying to see
across. Then looks over to Dylan, "I believe this will need judgement as
well."
Dylan looks over to Tsukikage from Dee,
squinting as he nods slowly. "Ben-yuf broke the fifth law of our Litany in front
of many witnesses. There is very little to judge, other than his punishment." A
soft sigh escapes his lips as he nods again, "I'll devise something
fitting."
LightningWalker whips around to face
Ian, tensing, perhaps misinterpreting his suggestion as more outright defiance.
A curdled roar rises in his throat and he lowers himself, moving towards him.
It's at that point that Tsukikage's voice rings loudly, and his head whips to
her. His ears flatten, and he moves towards her. ~I...regret you had to see
that, Crane Shadow-rhya,~ he howls, meekly.
Irma
shakes her head, as if trying to clear the thoughts of death and anger that are
ripping through her mind. She backs away from those gathered here and she paces
off toward one of the tunnels. Once there, she drops down to one knee and digs
her fingers into the dust of the Caern, clenching it between her fingers, trying
to use the holy ground to aid her calming of her Rage. She falls totally silent,
as if in dark meditation.
Maddy winces, dropping
out from under Ian's hand if she can.
"Ian..."
Ian stares firmly at the Beta's waist
until he turns. Then looks to Maddy, realizes that he's been slowly crushing her
shoulder and releases her, looking
apologetic.
Tsukikagelooks back to Dylan, "Hai. I
am confident you will." She furrows her brow at Ian momentarily, the unsettled
frown still on her face. She then nods to Leo, and says softly, "Hai." and waves
a hand as if to say it is all right.
Jenna
murmurs quietly to Gerald.
Gerald replies
quietly, briefly.
LightningWalker nods his head,
once. He rises up to his full height next to the diminuative woman in a kimono
next to him, and snarls angrily at the group, still unable to contain his fury.
His lantern-yellow eyes continue to search people's expressions, as if daring
them to mock him for this.
Jenna goes quiet and
still against Gerald's side as if the air itself waits for what is to come
next.
Maddy rubs her shoulder, staring at the
ground. She keeps close to Ian.
Gerald lowers his
gaze promptly to the ground.
Irma seems to be in
deep meditation for the moment. She is
unmoving.
Dee retains her mute immobile pose,
though her eyes do now alight more boldly on the exchange between Tsukikage and
Lightning Walker than the one which preceded it. She starts slightly at the
snarl and averts her gaze somewhat but remains otherwise still, her face
positively stiff with the composure she forces upon
it.
Dylan's gaze drops to his feet respectfully
after speaking to Tsukikage, not willing to give LightningWalker an outlet for
his rage. He stays near Dee, body
rigid.
Tsukikage flinches almost imperceptively
as Leo rises up next to her, she does not look down, but also does not meet his
gaze, instead scanning the gathered group as well. She seems to suddenly recover
that impassive buisness-like look.
Ian stands
tall, looking forward at no one in
particular.
Greta gives herself a shake and tries
to focus. Her vision seems to clear to the present, gaze falling on Leo and
staying somewhere around his shoulders. Not trying to meet his eyes. Not
challenging. Certainly not laughing. "We.. .ah" she says softly. "Such as this
has happened before, and will happen again, all down through the ages. We are
creatures of wyld and fire, bred for war. But as Leo-Rhya has said so many
times, we must not let what is personal divide us, or stray us from a task more
important than any of our singular lives." And with that she winces, as if
waiting for someone to strike.
Irma finally opens
her eyes again and she rises up slowly to her feet. She rolls her massive
shoulders and tips her head from side to side, making it pop. She lets out a
slow breath, seeming much more in control.
Jenna
dares to move her gaze toward Greta as she speaks. There is an almost
uncontrollable urge to break and run from what may come
next.
Ian asks, "Do we have any more business for
the council?"
Dylan nods his agreement with
Greta's words, adding softly, "Greta-yuf is right. Is there more we should
discuss? Ben's indiscretion will be dealt with appropriately at another time,
when matters are less pressing, I assure you
rhya."
LightningWalker keeps slowly gazing
around. His lantern eyes alight on Greta, and his first impulse is to snarl at
her, but he listens, ears pricked forward. After a moment he recovers, and
rumbles, his voice low, like thunder rolling on the hills, ~Burns-with-Silence
speaks wise.~ He turns and gazes about the room. ~I shall wrap this council up,
then Crane Shadow-rhya may call the Inner Sky.~ He takes a deep breath,
preparing to speak.
Gerald nods quietly, folding
his arms over his chest, and he relaxes
somewhat.
Tsukikage nods to Leo, "Hai. I also
have some news I learn while traveling, but it not specifically of drum." She
quiets again, and looks to Leo, waiting for all the business to wrap up before
she continues.
Dee's expression thaws out by a
faint margin as Greta speaks and she inclines her head in a nod it's unlikely
anyone will notice, before glancing about in what is probably
expectancy.
Jenna rubs her head in frustration at
the low growling coming from LightningWalker, but when Gerald begins to relax
she feels her own breath slide out from holding it so
long.
LightningWalker stands next to Tsukikage
still. ~Walks-on-Water shall assign the task of indoctrinating the new guests,
the Silver Fang, the Glass Walker, and the Silent Strider, to someone of his
choosing as soon as possible, as we are in dire need of new, trustworthy
warriors. Then he shall scout the territory where we believe the missing drum to
be. When he returns he shall meet with Scent-of-Red-Rain and the Sept
leadership, and we shall choose a course of action. The strike will be quick.
Those who are not called to fight will need to be called to guard, as there
*will* be reprisals. Both caerns have been compromised. We must not let our
guard down, we must not tire. Is that clear to
all?~
Dylan relaxes noticeably at
LightningWalker's words, standing up a bit more straight, his gaze moving to the
crinos'd elder respectfully.
Gerald clears his
throat and asks tentatively, "What of my son, Rhya? Shall he be indoctrinated
too?"
Dylan nods his head in assent to Leo's plan
as it's laid out.
Irma bows her head to Lightning
Walker-Rhya. "It is clear, Rhya."
Jenna glances
to Gerald as the speech finishes, she then looks back to the caern floor, hoping
to learn what was said later.
Dee seems to take
her cue from Dylan, watching him carefully; her face less stiff, but not much
less blank.
The Greek girl seems surprised when
she isn't struck, and folds herself back into the quiet that is her deed-name.
Again she drifts among the group, moving to the edge, to where she can watch ,
but is not in the midst. She nods her assent to Leo's
plan.
Ian nods. He pats Maddy's shoulder where he
was previously squeezing.
LightningWalker bares
his teeth. ~He has seen only to introduce himself to *you*, Get. Should he wish
to join, he must first ask. What is he, kin or Garou? I know nothing of
him.~
Gerald replies dutifully, "He is Garou. A
Galliard of the Fianna tribe."
Ian glances at
Gerald at that, a quirk of a smile on his
face.
Jenna raises her gaze to Gerald at his
reply, one-side conversations are the best
kind.
Tsukikage gives Gerald a confused glance at
mention of his son.
Maddy holds back a wince as
Ian pats, glancing at Gerald. She takes a step closer to Ian, rubbing her
shoulder absently, as if for lack of anything else to
do.
Dee may possibly be having less trouble than
Jenna in piecing together the conversation, but it's difficult to say
considering she continues to hang back and to wipe nearly all presence of
thought or emotion from her features.
Dylan
glances back at Dee, giving her a small nod. Since most of the anger has left
the room, and things seem safe, he makes his way over torwards the door,
standing beside it quietly. He crosses his arms as he watches the room with a
sober demeanor.
LightningWalker rumbles, ~If he
wishes to stay, then, he'll have to at least meet either the Alpha or the Beta
first. Then he can be tested. But I am already angered that a Fianna Galliard
treads on our territory and has not bothered to do a Howl of Introduction. That
is one mark against him.~ He gets a dark look. ~See to it that he is properly
respectful.~ he orders Gerald.
Ian raises a hand
slightly.
Gerald nods once and says, "Yes,
Rhya."
Greta glides toward Maddy in quiet paces,
until she stands scant feet from the redhead and her apparent keeper. With a
hand she reaches for the girl, as if to touch her
hair.
LightningWalker glances, turning to Ian. He
flattens his ears, and rumbles angrily,
~Yes?~
Maddy glances over at Greta, suppressing a
flinch as the theurge reaches for her. Her eyes have the same cast as a cornered
dog at the pound that just knows its time for the trip to the room of no
return.
Jenna tracks Greta's movement with her
eyes. A curious look moving over her features as she reaches to touch
Maddy.
Ian motions towards the broken glass and
wood, "The Caern is in disarray. It has been slipping farther that way for some
time, though I am only now truly noticing it. Philomina has been doing a good
job of restoring the Healing Caern after the attack. This Caern needs similar,
long term, attention. Unless anyone would like to challenge me for it, or you
wish to appoint anyone else to it, I would like to take on the duties of Keeper
of the Land for this Caern."
Dee listens to Ian
carefully, half her attention seemingly otherwise on the nearly-flinching
Maddy.
LightningWalker bows his head, his anger
diminishing, giving the Galliard a look of respect. ~Unless anyone challenges
you for it, it is yours.~ He turns back to the group. ~Is there anything else
before I pass the Council and leadership back to Crane
Shadow-rhya?~
Irma remains silent. Her attention
seems to be shifting more toward Greta and
Maddy.
Dylan clears his throat, raising his hand
to be acknowledged.
LightningWalker nods his
head. ~Truthcatcher~ he rumbles.
Tsukikage nods
to Ian and glances around the caern, then looks over to
Dylan.
Jenna leans against the wall, crossing her
arms over her chest as well. She watches the room quietly as the rumbling and
words flow around the area.
Dylan nods
respectfully to Leo before saying, "I have three things Leo-rhya. The first has
to do with the punishment that I was sent away to decide for Ben and Min. I
think it best that this be said before as many of the sept as possible. I will
share this with Ben and Min later in private, since they could not join us. Is
that acceptable, rhya?" he seems to ask both his elders the
last.
Greta touches the back of Maddy's hair with
caution, like she might harm her if she didn't take care. She smiles faintly,
the expression not reaching quite to her eyes, which maintain a predator's
neutrality. She takes a little half-step closer, and tucks a stray lock behind
the kin's ear.
LightningWalker glances at
Tsukikage, apparently already shifting some of the control back to her. For his
part, though, he nods.
Dee straightens slightly,
her attention fighting to go more primarily to
Dylan.
Maddy's eyes get very bright, and she
leans in to whisper to Greta.
Irma begins to
circle the group, moving slowly in Greta and Maddy's
direction.
Tsukikage glances to Leo, then looks
back to Dylan, "Hai. Though, it is duty of Dylan to tell them of his decision
and he who shall tell them." She glances around the group, "Do not discuss with
Ben or Min until Dylan has chance to contact
first."
Jenna bites her bottom lip until it turns
white as she watches Maddy and Greta.
Dee
inclines her head slightly but with respect at Tsukikage's caution. It seems
clear enough she'd have done no such thing even without this
instruction.
Ian watches Dylan, nodding
slightly.
LightningWalker looms over Tsukikage,
standing just behind her, as if he was her hideously large and violent shadow.
He watches the group, barely keeping from snarling
still.
Gerald shifts his attention to Tsukikage
attentively.
Irma continues to close in on Greta
and Maddy as she replies to the Alpha, "As you say, Rhya, so shall it be
done."
Dylan nods, taking a deep breath as he is
given assent. "Most here know already of Ben and Min-yuf's crimes. Ben's crime
was that he approached the women of our sept" he puts extra weight behind the
word 'approached' "with impure intentions. Both kin, and garou." He pauses,
letting that settle in. "He approached Min in his quest for physical contact. He
frightened her, telling her that he wished to be her mate. She resisted.
However, in doing so she promised not to share what he had felt, what he had
done, with the rest of the sept. That in itself was a mistake, but then she
broke this promise to Ben, a promise she should have never made." He lets out
whats left of his breath, then takes another before continuing. "I left to
ponder their punishment, to learn the rites I might need to punish them
properly. Once I considered what they had done, it became apparent that I did
not need those rites... in this instance. Their punishment has already come to
pass. The dishonor they feel is punishment enough, along with the wait that they
were put through while I came to this
decision."
Greta cocks her head to the side for a
moment, and peers at Maddy as though the older woman had sprouted a spare head.
Speechless, she stands there for a bit, agape. Her teeth click as she closes her
mouth and refocuses upon the sept.
Jenna begins
to step away from Gerald, not that she is being disrespectful, but the worry on
her features for Maddy is overriding her common sense at the moment. Irma's
movement isn't helping her feeling either.
Dylan
continues, "While what Ben wished for, and did is of the worst dishonor," and by
his tone, he means it, "he broke none of our laws. Neither did Min. If anything,
she owes her apology to Ben-yuf for breaking his trust, but that is between
them, and has not been put before me. If anyone disagrees with what I have laid
out, speak now." He glances around the room quietly, from face to
face.
Gerald grimaces distastefully as Dylan
describes the crimes in question.
Ian frowns
slightly, in apparent confusion more than anything
else.
Dee's face does not tend towards revealing
what, if anything, she feels about this particular punishment. But then, it is
hardly her place to say, and not much more her place to otherwise appear to pass
judgment. She merely nods at Dylan's words, presumably not in the sense that
she's about to speak up with further suggestions or
disagreements.
Maddy looks at Greta's chin
steadily, hand still cupped to her shoulder. She blinks and looks down as the
theurge looks away, brow furrowed and jaw clenching and unclenching as she takes
a few steadying breaths, eyes still bright.
Irma
stops moving about a meter or so away from Maddy and Greta. She crosses her arms
in front of her again and she just settles in there. She doesn't look directly
at either of them, or say anything. She just inserts herself in their general
close proximity. She frowns at Dylan's
statement.
Jenna stops before the safe and where
Ian stands as she watches Maddy's back in concentrated worry. Her gaze then goes
to Dylan and the words he speaks. Her opinion is silent and she looks
away.
LightningWalker's ears flatten again, and
his eyes narrow. He looks very displeased. But despite this, he says, ~It is
your judgement, Fire's-Promise. That is good enough for me. 'The Full-Moon does
not stand against the judgement of the Half-Moon.'~ he rumbles, reciting an old
song the Galliards howl sometimes in winter. He turns, then, and looks down one
of the tunnels.
Tsukikage nods at Dylan's words,
a slight frown. "It true he not break Laws, though perhaps intent still there. I
hope he clear why such action, had they happen, are considered shamefull.
However, I stand behind your judgement." She nods once decisively to
Dylan.
As noone disagrees openly with his
judgement, Dylan continues after nodding to both the alpha and beta. "The second
thing I wish to speak of is in regards to the healing caern itself. As we've all
heard, the healing caern has been wounded by the attack on it. While we will be
giving of ourselves to this caern tonight, I think it would be wise if we were
to tall stop by and give of ourselves to the healing caern as well, so that it
has the energy it needs to recover." With that, he looks to Greta. "Greta-yuf,
do you agree?"
Greta says "I do. And I intend to
do so..." She looks around the room, cautious in her words. "But know well that
our power may be heavily drawn in battle soon, as well. Do not spend yourselves
to help the Caern, only to the detriment of a battle for it." Casually, she puts
an arm around Maddy. A friendly gesture.
Really."
Maddy stiffens a little, against her
will. She keeps staring at that same interesting spot on the
floor.
Maddy mutters to Greta, "... not
going..."
Irma, casually, takes one step closer
to the hugger and the huggee.
LightningWalker
gets a pained look, but rumbles, ~The Inner Sky is needed desperately by both
caerns. Along with that, your pack and the new Caern warder should take extra
care to make sure no violence happens on the bawn. This is perhaps more
important than a simple moot rite.~
Tsukikage
gives Dylan a slightly displeased look as he speaks, is about to say something,
then quiets as Leo speaks.
Greta nods
emphatically, but doesn't speak further.
Dee
seems to think now is as good a time as any to tear her attention from Dylan and
stare impassively over at Maddy and Greta. Doesn't seem she understands much if
anything of what Lightning Walker might be
communicating.
Jenna lays her hands lightly on
the safe, the cool metal releasing the tension she had clenched in her
palms.
Gerald darts a glance around, keeping
quiet.
Ian continues watching
Dylan.
Dylan nods to Greta, then to
LightningWalker before moving on to his last piece of business. "Lastly, before
we all leave here tonight, I'd like to ask you each a single question, so please
do not leave until I have. I figure with as many gathered as we have here now, I
may as well start working torwards the goal Leo-rhya set out for
me."
Jenna nods quietly to Dylan before she turns
and speaks in a low whisper to Ian.
Tsukikage
nods to Dylan, her displeased look earlier seems to have faded
quickly.
LightningWalker bows his head to Dylan,
still content to be Tsukikage's rather violent
shadow.
Ian turns back to the Elders, listening
to them, as well as tilting his head slightly to the side as Jenna speaks. He
smiles, coughing slightly and raising a gloved hand to about shoulder
height.
Greta lets everything go on around her,
staying where she is for the moment. In the space between conversations, she
leans close and says something in a low, silken whisper to
Maddy.
Gerald turns his attention to
Dylan.
Dylan glances around once more, then nods.
"That is all I have. Thank you, rhya." Again he seems to speak to both the alpha
and beta.
Once it it clear that Dylan is
finished, Irma gives him a quick, hand signal to come over to
her.
LightningWalker glances over at Irma, Greta,
and Maddy, flashing them a rather irritated
look.
Tsukikage looks over to Dylan, and nods,
"Hai. After the Moot Rite, please ask what you will." She then shoots a look
around the group, first to Greta Irma, and Maddy, then to Ian and Jenna, "Is
there something more important than proceedings here you all wish to
share?"
Dylan catches sight of Irma's motion, his
brow knitting at that. He starts to make his way over, till Tsukikage speaks
torwards that group of people. He decides to stay where he is for the time
being.
Gerald's attention returns to Tsukikage,
and he remains silent.
Jenna drops her eyes to
the floor as Tsukikage speaks, she stands next to Ian, awaiting for him to ask
the question.
Irma looks up to the Alpha and she
bows her head to her.
Maddy bows her head at
Greta's whisper, tucking her chin almost to her chest. She shakes it silently in
response to Tsuki's question, not looking
up.
Greta shakes her head, lets her arm fall away
from Maddy, and lowers her eyes. "No, my Alpha. I apologize to the Sept for my
slight."
Ian says "Jenna was asking me to bring
up a question of the Caern gaurding, Ma'am." He looks down around Tsukikage's
feet, "Whether Kin will be needed to help guard them, during this time. I can
only say on this matter, that the help and visitation of the Kinfolk has been,
and should continue to be, valuable without measure. I believe it is through
them, that the last two weeks of myself and Irma living down here, has resulted
only in the spilling of our own blood, and not each other's." He smiles,
slightly, almost shyly."
Dee's attention goes
swiftly, sharply to Ian before glancing back to
Tsukikage.
Irma seems to relax somewhat as
Greta's arm is removed from Maddy's shoulders and she takes a step back from the
two of them, keeping her attention on the
Alpha.
Maddy just stays where she is, staring at
the floor, one hand on the opposite
shoulder.
Tsukikage nods to Greta, "Hai. If it
something to share with the Sept, please do so after Moot Rite." She then looks
to Ian, "Hai. The kinfolk can always help bring food, supplies, company and
watchful eye. However, if fighting break out, it best to clear away. I imagine
each caern warder will have own thoughts on the matter." She pauses, "As for
what I learn while away: It seem word has spread of the darkness that threaten
to awake in the Volcano. Other Garou turn eyes towards us. Wondering if we can
stop it. Things dire elsewhere as well. We must succeed in this." She takes a
breath, "I again visit the Sept of Latter Day Saints in Utah. It seem they also
have problem with corrupting power bars in a gym. They take care of immediate
problem but believe manufacturing here in the city. The only wrapper they
salvage say, "Made in Albuquerque" by "...something... 'ness Incorporated'." She
glances around a moment.
LightningWalker narrows
his eyes in thought. He stares off down one of the tunnels
again.
Dylan's brow furrows once more at
something Tsukikage says, then his eyes widen just a bit as he realizes
something. He shifts anxiously, but keeps it to himself, wanting to get the moot
rite finished.
Dee listens attentively and --
surprise, surprise -- doesn't speak.
Irma takes
all this in, but does not respond.
Gerald coughs
delicately, but keeps quiet otherwise.
Jenna
brings her glances up slightly as the Alpha speaks. Her brow wrinkles slightly
at the words as she runs them over in her mind, sifting a filing cabinet of
information.
Ian looks up, maybe around
Tsukikage's pretty little knees. He nods,
once.
Tsukikage nods, "Our first priority is to
retrieve drum right now. But, if you find something, or kin want to look up
business names in meantime, keep in mind." She glances around, We can discuss
more if want after Rite. But, now, we turn our thoughts to the spirits..." She
moves to the center of the caern and kneels down, then looks up with a glazed
look in her eyes.
Jenna smiles to Ian briefly in
thanks before she turns her attention to Ms. Tsuki with quiet
repose.
Tsukikage says "Chimera, and guardians,
Owl. We offer what we can to this sacred ground." She raises her head and looks
ot the East, "Hear me spirits of the East, Power of Air, we call on you,
Chimera, Starseeker, Whirlwind, Rising Sun, Come! By air that is your breath,
send forth your light, be here now..." She pauses, then turns to the North,
"Spirits of North, Power of Fire, we call on you. Flaming one, summer warmth,
Spark of life. By Fire that is your spirit, send forth your flame, be here
now..." She then pauses again and turns to the West, "Spirits of the West, Power
of Water, we call on you. You of the watery abyss, Rainmakers, Grey-Robed
twilight, Evening star...Luna. Come! By waters of your life, send forth your
flow, be here now..." She pauses again a little longer then faces South, "Spirit
of the South! Power of Gaia, Lady of Life, Southern Sky, center of all... Stone,
Mountain, Fertile Field. Come! By earth that is your body, Send forth your
strength! Be here now!" Her form shimmers for a moment, as a faint light
coalesces around her. She opens her arms to the caern as energy flows from
her."
LightningWalker stays where he is. He puts
a massive paw down on one of the rails, watching Tsukikage as she enacts the
rite. He lowers himself down, directing his hidden power towards the caern. The
shadows around him ripple slightly, but perhaps that was just a trick of the
eye.
Ian moves over to the damaged booth, his
boots crunching in the rocks and dirt. His hands run up and down it's surfaces,
examing it's marred planes and broken endges. His hands glow faintly blue as he
does so.
As Tsukikage begins the rite, Dylan
sighs softly bowing his head. The tell-tale blue symbols, hidden beneath his
clothes if they are even drawn there do not glow as they usually
do.
Jenna stands eerily silent as she watches the
power that is drawn into the Caern. Her breath catches in her
throat.
Dee hangs back, arms crossed. It's likely
that some might consider her somehow closed to what occurs. Whether or not that
would be true and whether she simply has the good manners to stay out of what
cannot concern her would be a difficult puzzle even if it were worth the
attention.
Maddy's shoulders tighten as she hears
the calling of the winds, but she otherwise doesn't
respond.
Tsukikage glances around after everyone
spends gnosis. "I also like to mention that something strange in the umbra of
the park behind the fomori, Lisa's house. It seem, in the umbra, it was once a
place of power. There a strange circle of stones there. When have time, a
theurge should look into this."
LightningWalker
shifts back to his human form after he is finished, looking drained, worn down.
Dark fur blurs into the familiar bowling shirt and pants, sensible construction
boots. He turns and paces over to a section of the yards, looking for
something.
Leo paces around a bit. He picks up
his cel phone, inspects it for scratches, scowls at it, then pockets it. He
turns around, shoving his hands in his
pockets.
Tsukikage looks between Gerald and Leo,
"If one of these new arrivals a theurge, it may be something he look
into."
Jenna wraps her arms around herself as she
listens to the Alpha, her gaze the flickers with a quiet, respectful look to the
Beta.
Ian walks back over, noting, "Jeff
is."
Gerald nods as Ian speaks and adds, "What he
said."
Leo has his cel phone in hand. He wanders
lazily over to where Irma is, still respectfully watching the
proceedings.
Tsukikage nods, "Hai. This may be
opportunity to prove self if he find information about
it."
Dylan moves back to stand by the
door.
Jenna smiles to Tsukikage, happy to have
her back within the folds of her family and
safe.
Irma nods to Leo when he approaches and she
looks back to the Alpha.
Gerald nods to
Tsukikage. "He took a bullet last night for us. Didn't even scream much when I
pulled it out with some pliers. Very
promising."
Leo folds his arms, nodding to
Tsukikage. He takes in this umbral stones thing, but it's obvious it means
nothing to his Ahroun way of thinking. He shrugs after a
moment.
Dee casts a sidelong glance Geraldwards,
raising her eyebrows ever so slightly.
Tsukikage
looks around, "Any other thoughts on what brought up, or other news to discuss?"
She tilts her head towads Gerald with a grin,
"Hai."
Jenna walks back over to Gerald with a
small smile on her lips. She looks like she could drink half his stash right
now.
Dylan glances at Gerald briefly, brow rising
a bit before he glances around the room quietly, his arms crossed over his chest
while he waits to question you dirty liars.
Irma
doesn't appear to have anything to add.
Leo
briefly shakes his head. He keeps his arms
folded.
Tsukikage nods, "Hai. Then we will
conclude business and turn attention to Dylan's request." She nods to Dylan,
focusing her attention on him.
Leo nods to
Tsukikage. As business is concluded, he turns to Irma, speaking to her
quietly.
Greta listens to all o' ya, nods
absently for a moment, then fishes a small notebook from her backpack and
scribbles into it. She's all quiet and
linger-y.
Gerald glances over to Dylan
expectantly.
Dylan smiles faintly to Tsukikage,
it's almost an apologetic smile as he says. "I believe I should ask everyone
here, no matter who, my question. It will be a simple one, and will require only
a yes or no answer. I'll start with our kin first." With that, he casts his gaze
about, letting it finally fall on Dee. He nods once to her, indicating she's
lucky number 1.
Jenna squeezes Gerald's arm
lightly, the expression holds a meaning for various things. She then turns to
regard Dylan as well. Her eyes rather focused and neutral as she rests them on
the TruthCatcher.
Ian reaches a hand up and
scratches, or, rather, rubs, Maddy behind the
ear.
Maddy flinches slightly, then stills,
letting him.
Dylan's attention is distracted by
something, his attention shifting from Dee to Irma, his brow furrowing once
more. "Irma-yuff..?"
Jenna turns to speak to
Gerald a moment as she waits her turn in line for the
questioning.
Jenna mutters to Gerald, "...
want... with... the... you..."
Irma nods to Leo's
quiet words and then she says to the group in general, "If no one objects... I'd
like to speak to the Truthcatcher before he questions
anyone..."
Tsukikage shakes her head, "No
objection." She then motions to Dylan, "Please speak if
wish."
Dylan assuming that noone would object, he
makes his way down torwards Irma from the door, his brow
high.
Gerald glances to Jenna, holding up a hand
in a 'wait' gesture, and he stays quiet.
Irma
bows to Tsuki and she turns and she walks over to where Dylan stands. She leans
in and speaks to him very quietly.
Jenna nods in
response and turns her attention back to the
room.
Irma whispers "If you discover the traitor,
may I suggest that you do not let on, except for telling the Elders and perhaps
myself. I'd like to use this source to feed misinformation to the Wyrm about our
attack."
Ian move over to the area where the
makeshift kitchen is, grabs a bag and moves over to the booth. He kneels down
and starts picking up shards of broken glass. Big and small, they're everywhere
over there.
Dylan tilts his head at Irma's words,
seeming a bit confused as he replies. He mutters to Irma, "... alone... to...
people... than... to be..." He nods to Irma.
Dee
spares Dylan an expectant glance and thereafter watches
Ian.
Irma nods her head to Dylan and she turns
and returns to Leo's side.
Dylan returns to his
position, looking to Dee once more. "Dee."
Dee
offers Dylan a faint smile that, while respectful, is several shades of sardonic
as well. Uncrossing her arms, she approaches Dylan and waits quietly before him
with bowed head.
Jenna furrows her brow at Ian,
then her steps follow, kneeling nearby to help with the shards of glass, placing
them almost reverently within the bag.
Greta
looks toward Maddy again while everybody's conversing. "Maddy..." she says
quietly. "Think I could talk to you
sometime?"
Ian waves at Jenna, "Get some gloves
if you're going to help. We don't need you cutting
yourself."
Dylan gives Dee a solemn, emotionless
look. The look of a judge as he asks, "Did you knowingly lead the enemy to our
caern or the drum?"
Maddy looks up finally,
rubbing at her face. She glances at Greta and says quietly, "Yeah. Soon as we're
done, here, good for you?"
Jenna nods to the
words, not even thinking about it. She pulls the ones from last night out of her
pocket and slides them on. A simple pair of gardening type
gloves.
Dee holds her head reasonably high but
doesn't make eye contact, addressing Dylan's cheekbones demurely and apparently
without fear. "I did not."
Irma chuckles. She
mutters to Leo, "Yeah, we... fingers."
Dylan
shows no sign of what he thinks of Dee's answer, he simply nods his thanks.
"Thank you, you may leave." He then turns his attention to Maddy, calling her
forward. "Maddy."
Dee does not in fact run out
the door. She inclines her head to Dylan and draws back, glancing somewhat
intensely at Maddy but not in any actual
expectation.
Maddy sighs heavily and moves over
to Dylan, rubbing one arm repeatedly.
Greta says
"If not then, soon. I gotta get back to the healing caern pretty quick tonight,
though, deliver Leo's message to Min, and take care of some things there, too.
But...you go talk to Dylan."
Jenna works
alongside Ian as even the tiniest shards of glass are picked up and placed in
the bag.
Dylan nods politely as Maddy comes
close, his look remaining the same as when he spoke to Dee. He repeats the
question, "Did you knowingly lead the enemy to our caern or the
drum?"
Leo lifts his chin, favoring Irma with a
wry grin at her last comment. He turns back, watching Dylan continue to do his
job.
Maddy looks down, saying almost inaudibly,
"No."
Ian continues sifting through rocks and
dir, digging out broken glass.
Dylan nods
politely in reply, "Thank you." He then turns his gaze, finding Jenna. He calls
her up, "Jenna."
Jenna glances over her shoulder
before she stands, dusting off her hands and facing the Truthcatcher squarely.
She walks over and pauses before him.
Dylan
repeats the process, working hard to keep his visage the same constantly. "Did
you knowingly lead the enemy to our caern or the drum?" he asks of
Jenna.
Jenna shakes her head slowly.
"No."
Dylan again nods, moving on to the garou.
He picks randomly.... Greta. "Greta." he calls
forward.
Irma mutters to Leo, "They said... the
traitor... right? What... you..."
Jenna returns
to her task at hand beside Ian.
Leo mutters to
Irma, "... the... 'she was... hole,... like all... were'.... the... but...
that... after I... Ben had... after...
alone."
Maddy moves back towards the safe,
bending over and snagging something off the
ground.
Greta paces over to Dylan. Her answer is
tired, and she seems patient, but exasperated. "Yes,
Dylan?"
Dee's eyes follow Maddy, and she seems
unsurprised at her actions.
As soon as Jen clears
an area of glass, she takes the pieces of shattered wood in the area an lays it
aside in a small pile. Something warm tracks down the dust along her cheek, but
she shoves it away with the back of her
hand.
Dylan repeats the question once again, "Did
you knowingly lead the enemy to our caern or the drum?" Studying Greta's
features. Each time he asks the question, there's a small glint in the corner of
his eye as he activates his gift.
Greta says "No,
I did not. May I ask you a question before you
continue?"
Ian stands, looking at the damage to
the booth. He grabs a still attached shard of glass, breaking it off quickly and
cleanly. There's a pained look as he does so, then he drops it into the bag. He
looks at the booth, then continues with the
surgery.
Irma hmms darkly and then leans in to
speak to Leo in a lower voice.
Some emotion
actually leaks out at this, Dylan's jaw clenching just slightly. "Thank you." He
seems to be taking comfort in the pattern of this, and now it's been broken.
"What is it?" Despite doing his best not to display any emotion, especially a
negative one to his own packmate, there's a tinge of annoyance in his
tone.
Leo leans in to listen to Irma, though he
watches Greta and Dylan.
Greta closes a step on
Dylan, invading the hell out of his personal space as she speaks to him in low,
even tones.
Dee's eyes remain primarily on Maddy,
her expression far too elaborately unrevealing in the way that tends to make the
beheld snap 'What?!'
Tsukikage seems to be
watching Dylan and Greta thoughtfully, off to the
side.
Maddy makes her way over to Gerald,
enveloping him in an unexpected hug.
Jenna
crouches, moving along slowly as she sifts through the dirt for more glass and
wood shards.
Gerald blinks a bit, then slings an
arm around Maddy, looking perplexed, but hey, he goes with
it.
Dylan's brow rises at Greta's words. He
shakes his head slightly, "No, I did not." His features smooth once more as he
stares at her quietly.
Greta speaks in quiet
tones to the Truthcatcher, then withdraws a bit, awaiting her answer in her
usual animated silence. "Good, pack-sibling. Success to you in yoru task. Now I
bid you good-night. May I go?"
Dylan nods to
Greta in response before looking for the next 'victim'. He chooses Gerald,
"Gerald."
Irma continues to speak to Leo in low
tones.
Gerald speaks quietly to Maddy, then steps
away to face Dylan. "Yeah?" he asks.
Maddy
dredges up a smile for the new fostern, then looks over at Jenna and
Ian.
Leo nods back, flashing Irma an urgent,
worried look. He murmurs to his packmate.
Dee
continues to rest her gaze on Maddy, slipping her hands casually into the
pockets of her jacket.
Dylan repeats the question
in low tones to Gerald, with a small alteration "Did you knowingly lead the
enemy to our caern or the drum, rhya?"
Jenna
wipes across her cheek again as she stands and moves a few steps away where more
glass flew across the area.
Gerald shakes his
head and replies, "Nope."
Greta also closes
distance toward Maddy.
Maddy takes a deep breath
and moves over to Jenna and Ian. She's intercepted by
Greta.
Dylan nods his response, "Thank you." He
glances around once more, stopping on Ian.
"Ian."
Ian was looking at the booth, trying to
figure out which part to remove next, when his name is called. He looks over,
brushes off his gloves over the bag, then walks over standing impassively in
front of the half-moon.
Dylan repeats the
question once more, "Did you knowingly lead the enemy to our caern or the drum?"
to Ian.
Ian says easily,
"Nope."
Tsukikage suddenly looks up with start
and a dark frown, "Rose?"
Dylan nods his
response, turning his gaze on Irma now. "Irma." Once she approaches, he repeats
the question "Did you knowingly lead the enemy to our caern or the
drum?"
Tsukikage mutters under her breath
worriedly.
Ian walks back to the booth, he
declares, "I need my tools."
Irma knows the
question is coming, but still seems offended by it. Reason doens't always help.
She growls darkly, "No."
Leo pauses, lets Irma
respond, then continues his quiet
conversation.
Greta touches Maddy's shoulder and
says, "If you want to try to fix it at some point, call me. You know the
number." And then she takes a step away, letting the woman pass if she
choose.s.
Jenna glances over to Ian a
moment.
Dylan nods his response, turning his gaze
on the elders now. "Tsukikage-rhya." Once she approaches, he repeats the
question "Did you knowingly lead the enemy to our caern or the drum,
rhya?"
Tsukikage moves over, and shakes her head,
"No, I did not."
Leo suddely laughs quietly at
something Irma says. He gets a rather dangerous grin, then glances absently back
as Dylan questions his Alpha.
Maddy looks at
Greta, eyes empty. "Yeah. Kind of late."
Dylan
nods once more, moving on to the last person. His gaze settles on Leo and he
calls him up, "Leo-rhya."
Tsukikage pauses a
moment, then tilts her head to Dylan, "But I just remember that the cat, Rose,
know where the healing caern is. She uncooperative, but she did swear to me to
protect it and knowledge of it. I do believe she intend to keep Oath. But she is
still someone to consider."
Leo excuses himself
from his packmate and strides up. "Trutchcatcher," he
replies.
Dylan repeats the question, again with
the slight alteration for respect, "Did you knowingly lead the enemy to our
caern or the drum, rhya?"
Ian leans,
affectionately, against the damaged booth. He smiles at Maddy and Greta. He
looks tired.
Leo glances at Tsukikage. He
grimaces at the mention of Rose, but nods at her assessment. He turns back to
Dylan. "I did not."
Jenna takes in the area
before listening to the Alpha's words. "Does that mean anywhere near the opening
or going within the caern itself, ma'am?"
Dylan
bobs his head in a nod, "Thank you, rhya." He glances around, "Thank you
everyone." Finally he lets out a short sigh, his posture relaxing.. and he too
looks tired.
Tsukikage looks over to Jenna,
"Sorry...I not understand question?"
Greta
touches Maddy's hair again or tries to, at least. She seems very tactile
tonight. She mutters to Maddy, "I... Maddy.... you... believe...
the..."
Gerald stretches, grunting wearily as he
finally moves away from the wall and looks around
blearily.
Ian looks to Dylan, asking, "Here's a
fair question, asked without intent for disrespect. How can we be sure of your
honesty in this matter? We are all suspect,
sadly."
Jenna smiles a bit tiredly herself. "If a
woman led them to the caern, did they have to enter it, or is the Over Look
close enough?"
Maddy nods to
Greta.
Leo glances at Jenna. "The woman would
have to know not only the location of the caern, but the location of the drum
inside the caern, as well."
Tsukikage shrugs, "I
not know. I not hear when it happen." She looks to Leo, "It possible they have
ways to find other than willing leading. Perhaps
dreams?"
Dee remains detached and quiet. She
continues to watch Maddy in particular, though her ears myst certainly be
open.
Tsukikage frowns, "As I recall, not many
knew where the drum hidden..."
Leo looks troubled
by Tsukikage's suggestion. He nods. "Perhaps, yes. It's as good a guess as
any."
Jenna nods to Leo. "I wasn't sure, just
getting some facts straight. I wasn't aware the keys were there
either."
Dylan glances around, realizing that
everything is finished. He nods to his elders and then, makes his way out
quietly, looking tired.
Greta speaks out,
breaking her conversation with Maddy long enough to speak to Ian's question.
"Dylan is not the only one among us who can see truth. I did not wish to make an
issue of it, but that was our whispered exchange earlier. His hands are clean of
this."
Leo shakes his head. "It's all too
confusing. None of this makes sense." He turns back to Irma. "Good, I'll stay
here and guard. See you in eight hours or
so."
Dee unexpectedly makes a quiet announcement
to no one in particular. "I didn't know, and I still don't know." A faint shrug
as if to herself suggests it doesn't in fact change the caliber of her answer to
the Fianna philodox.
Dylan stops in turning for
the door, glancing back at Ian. As Greta replies, he nods torwards her, "Greta
checked me for honesty. I'll submit myself to another half-moons questioning as
well, your packmate if you choose."
Ian frowns,
muttering, "Which packmate? The one who can't bother himself to join
us?"
Tsukikage tilts her head, "How do we know
they knew where drum was? They say someone told them where drum
was?"
Jenna glances to Maddy, asking in a quiet
tone. "Do you want to start hunting down the manufactuer of the Power Bar
tommorrow?"
Gerald starts toward the door,
looking a little dazed. Then again, he has been sober for an awful long time
now.
Irma nods to Leo and then turns to give the
Alpha a respectful bow before she heads over to the makeshift campsite. She
releases her hair from her pony tail, something many of you have never seen
before, making her jet black hair spill around her chiseled face. She then flops
down onto her sleeping bag.
Dylan lifts his
shoulders in a small shrug to Ian's new questions before turning a tired,
apologetic smile on Greta. He then turns for the door, heading out after
all.
Jenna pulls her gloves off as she notes
Gerald, shaking the tiny bits of glass off.