Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous Moon phase (64% full).
Currently in Saint Claire, it's a sunny day. The temperature is 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the northeast at 8 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 29.91 and falling, and the relative humidity is 25 percent. The dewpoint is 49 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius.)
It is currently 19:05 Pacific Time on Thu Aug 9 2001.
Sunrise Road, In the Forest
This is a wide black-topped road through the woods, without any lines at all, though the pavement looks fairly new. Majestic trees, both conifers and deciduous, grow right up to the road, but give a peaceful ambiance rather than the more looming look of the woods to the south. Now and again, a mailbox and the beginning of a driveway can be seen on either shoulder, expensive homes on large plots of pristine land. The houses are generally set a good distance back on their lots, and screened from the road by trees, so that they can't see the cars and the cars can't see them. Sunrise Road is known as a place where nature-lovers with a lot of handy cash live. A sign on the roadside indicates that Highway 22, Kent Crossing and Wolf Woods are to the south, while I-90 is a ways up the road in the opposite direction. A large Deer Crossing sign stands on either side of the road as well.
The road winds its way both northward and southward through the woods.
Spins-in-Circles stops walking and looks around. She barks at her cubmate, not liking what she sees. We're lost. Spins does not recognize where we are.
Nails pads up at an angle from the side. He gives Spins a hard glare. You do not know where we are. Great thing, coming here. This is not a joke?
A small, starved-looking wolf appears some distance away, behind the two lost cubs, and stops, staring in their direction with mis-matched eyes, ears forward and nose working, sniffing busily at the air.
Yes. Spins is in the mood for jokes. The elder ragabash shakes her head and starts walking again. We must find food soon too. Spins is hungry.
Nails believes we shall be eating our tails soon. He follows his cubmate irritatedly. This was a bad move.
The wolf with the odd eyes follows, though he remains at a distance.
Not a bad move. We need to learn survival. Like Spot. Spins-in-Circles pauses, spotting the strange, unkown wolf. She leans her head down and slows to let Nails get closer. Do you know that one?
Biter stops when Dizzy does and stands there, attentively and intently staring in their direction. His body language expresses curiosity mingled with a great deal of suspicion.
No. Nails has not seen the strange-eyed wolf before. He sniffs, but gets nothing from the air. Giving a look to his cubmate, he turns back to the other wolf and barks. Is this territory yours?
Biter's hackles rise in bristles of dark gray fur, though he does not move closer. No.
Good Nails. Spins would not have thought to ask. At the response, Spins-in-Circles cocks her head to the side. Maybe the strange wolf is one like us. What does the Litany say about the veil and wolves?
Biter tilts his head to one side, the suspicious caution in his manner retreating slightly, though far from completely. He moves a step toward the pair and cranes his neck forward, sniffing. Then he sneezes and jerks his head back with a growl. You stink.
Nails tries to kill two birds with one stone with his next question. Who are you, stranger wolf?
Biter huffs, ears erect and tail rising in a display of dominant aggression that would look far more impressive on a larger beast. You say first. _You_ are strangers. Strangers that stink.
Stink? Spins-in-Cicles lifts her nose into the air and slowly pads to a position behind Nails, feigning an air of nobility. Spins does not have bed smell.
Biter is clearly not joking, quite the opposite. You stink. I _hate_ that stink.
Nails sits down and scratches his chin thoughtfully, apparently ignoring the epithet. Fair question. This one is Hits-the-Nail-on-the-Head, whelped under empty moon to those-who-walk-among-twoleg-dens. You?
Biter, still bristling and agitated, looks expectantly at Spins.
Spins-in-Circles gives a small growl to the strange wolf. Spins does _not_ stink. She stays behind her cubmate still, though.
Biter's muzzle wrinkles up, lips writhing away from his front fangs. He growls at the pair. Yes. Of the dead place, of the _loud_ place, you stink of it. I am Bites-Everything, I am full moon, and you _stink_. You stink and your noses are stupid-dead.
Spins-in-Circles sits and holds her head high. Spins is Spins-in-Circles. Others also call Spins Protects-Others-from-Themselves. Spins was born under the new moon as a child of cockroach.
Biter jogs a few steps forward toward the two urrah-wolves and then stops, still carrying himself with an aggressive air, ears up, tail raised, hackles bristling. He demands to know why they are here.
[Missing part coming soon]
Spins-in-Circles looks over to her cubmate sorrowfully. Does Nails want to go back? Spins is doubting the wisdom of this plan. Being wolf is hard.
Nails returns a wearied gaze. Yes, Nails wants to go back. Which way is home? He trots in a small circle around his sister cub, looking for some sign of human civilization.
Spins-in-Circles lays down. Spins thought Nails was good at directions.
Defeated, Nails pads up next to Spins and sits down, facing the direction opposite her. I am, but only in cities. Nails thought Spins knew where we were going.
Spins did not know exactly where. She looks over to her cubmate and sets her head back down. This was bad idea. Very bad idea.
There's a little warning... but the cubs, being cubs and city ones at that, probably miss it. Animal noises quietening. A subtle change in the feel of the woods, as artificial as they already are.
Nails nods assent. Which way now? We go one direction only, we can find a Weaver-path.
The elder raggie cub stands back up, slightly alarmed at her cubmate's suggestion. If we go back, elders mad. We need to survive. Bad idea but necessary.
There's a few seconds that they can hear leaves being scattered and crunched, and low branches and scrub, either broken or pushed out of the way. A surging rush, and a raging beast resembling the ancient dire wolves, bursts into view - snarling viciously and barrelling towards them without pause. The bald, and badly scarred right foreleg is unmistakable, along with the extensive scarring all over that makes the black-furred hispo look mangy. 'Elders mad' appears to be an understatement.
Nails stands back up himself and moves to the side in surprise at his fellow cub's apparent reversal of mood. Then his surprise shifts to the giant wolf bearing down on them, and backs away as best he can with his tail tucked.
Spins-in-Circles doesn't have quite as calm as a reaction. She just turns and runs. It's retribution time and every cub for themself.
Walks-Thin-Ice heads directly for Nails, barrelling into him with a headbutt, and swiping along the lupe's side with his claws. Clearly only intending to knock the cub out of the way, but the sheer size of the elder Garou, and the difference in forms, results in a much more agonizing wound. Walks-Thin-Ice ignores Nails, after the swipe, charging onwards after Spins-in-Circles.
Not worrying about where she's going, or the fact that she'll probably be lost afterward, Spins-in-Circles continues running, not looking back. The only thing on her mind right now is the angry hispo behind her and the fact that stopping would be painful to her bodily health.
Nails cries out in pain as he is fairly thrown out of the elder's path. He lays where he lands, barely daring to breathe, until he's sure Walks-Thin-Ice is well beyond.
The hispo surges onwards, growling and snarling past Nails and hunting Spins-in-Circles down with a cold fury. The larger, more skilled warrior gains quickly on his cub, before leaping forwards with a roar to tackle her to the ground. Claws outstretched, and maw gaping - showing a deadly array of fangs - he's not holding back for her safety.
Maybe if she were a more intelligent garou, Spins-in-Circles would have shifted into Hispo form to take advantage of the size and increased speed, but in the present situation, this tactic escapes her. Walks-Thin-Ice connects and takes her down, ripping a good portion of flesh from her. She howls out in unholy pain, but tries unrelentlessly to summon up the power to continue to try and escape. Hoplessness is just about ready to settle in on the poor cub.
Dragging the female back with paws almost as wide as her shoulders, Walks-Thin-Ice uses the forces of his weight to pin her, and then brings obscenely large jaws down around her head and neck. The incisors actually begin to sink into flesh, but he holds back. The snarling form's message is obvious. Submit. Nails is largely ignored for the moment.
She has lost. Spins-in-Circles stops trying to escape and goes largely limp, grinding her teeth from the pain of the teeth digging into her neck. Walks-Thin-Ice has her beat and there is no way out now. Spins submit. Spins submit.
Nails looks slowly and dazedly back along the side raked by Walks-Thin-Ice's claws, and hopes it feels worse than it looks. Naturally this hope is dashed; his flank's nearly torn open. Shuddering, Nails closes his eyes and lays his head back down. No fight from him.
Quivering with rage, Walks-Thin-Ice growls lowly and then violently releases Spins-in-Circles with a snarl. Claws nearly pick her up and toss her, flipping the older cub towards the younger. Accept an Honourable Surrender. Respect the Territory of Another. Submission to Those of Higher Station. /Obeying the Litany!/ Walks-Thin-Ice emphasises with a harsh, angry bark, as he pads around the two cubs.
The elder cub doesn't say anything. She just lies there, allowing herself to heal, much like the night the bane attacked. That time it was just some bruised ribs and egos, now it's ripped flesh and blood.
The younger cub also says nothing, though he reopens his eyes and tracks his elder's movements as he listens.
Still circling and watching the two cubs with red, rage-filled eyes, the far-too-full moon illuminates his scarred form. What were the no-moons thinking? The no-moons are supposedy Garou! Garou obey! Cubs who cannot learn to be Garou, /die/. He circles, as if inspecting the bleeding cubs for the best angle of attack. The wounds... aren't healing. The pain is a continued reality.
New moons try to survive. Spins-in-Circles winces, talking is mightily hard while still in pain. We thought that is what elders wanted, learn to be more wolf, less dog. Backwards thinking strategy. Lock up so we try and get out.
It's a good thing Spins is replying, because Nails can't remember what he was thinking when he agreed to this. He just continues to watch his elder with eyes full of fear.
The Cliath looks bemused for a moment, but still manages to keep the anger as he paces around them. The constant movement maybe some release, or perhaps letting them know that they /are/ trapped. And that the desire to sink his teeth into them is still strong. Try to survive? Out here? There is no point in surviving out here until cubs can /obey/. Trust. Learn. Walks-Thin-Ice could kill uneducated cubs without thought. Walks-Thin-Ice has difficulty with Wyrm-things, sometimes. His head lowers and he pauses in the pacing to growl at the two. Thinks-she-Guides-Fools was ambushed near here. Spot. Walks-Thin-Ice stopped her from getting killed.
Spins-in-Circles starts to get worried. Her wounds are not healing like she expected. Spins finds it hard to guess elders' purposes and plans. Most time spent alone in dog house doing nothing. Cannot go to teaching place, cannot see other garou.
Nails has learned something, certainly. He glances back along his flank again, looking extremely disturbed at the unhealing wound. Nails needs to stop listening to other damnfool cubs.
Walks-Thin-Ice lifts his head to glare at the moon, and then resumes pacing, eying the cubs balefully. Walks-Thin-Ice growls lowly. A response to that can wait until the moon is less full, and reason can be found. He looks intensely irritated for a moment. Cat-Killer's decision was for the locking cubs away to prevent harm. More irritation follows, and he shifts up a little further - contorting and blurring as muscles expand and shift, and he comes to rise onto hind legs in Crinos; but still with his shoulders hunched, and claws low to the ground. Considering the tiny lupus forms with barely restrained anger. ~You were /so close/, you fools!~ he bellows.
The elder cub doesn't say anything more to that. She closes her eyes and concentrates. Healing wasn't this hard before. Why was it now?
There's no response to Walks-Thin-Ice's statement from Nails; there's absolutely nothing he can say to excuse himself. Tenatively he tries slowly shifting up toward Crinos, hoping that will speed the healing process.
Walks-Thin-Ice barks at Nails, ~Stay Lupus. Heal faster. And you won't be healing for several days, yet. Supernatural. Fire. Silver. Your vulnerabilities. First things you know. Well... our /claws and teeth/ count.~ He lowers his body a little more. ~How can I trust you? How? What am I meant to do with you? You are useless to me! I give you chance, and you spit it back in my face!~ This is mostly aimed at Spins-in-Circles.
Spins-in-Circles picks her head up slightly off the ground. It visably pains her, but she's more interested in making her argument heard. Give Spins chance? How? Spins cannot punish Nails because there is no way to. We already cannot go out or do anything. How does one punish one who already has worst punishment? No one sees us. No way to be humiliated when no one sees Nails. Spins and Nails aready have worst punishment. Nothing worst except being chewed up.
Nails hesitates briefly at Hispo, then his form condenses back down to a normal-sized wolf's. He listens tiredly to Spins' argument, then absolutely glares at her for the last part. Please, don't give /him/ any ideas.
Walks-Thin-Ice lifts a hand to his face, and turns to a nearby tree - he swipes at it, and the claws rake massive splinters and chips of wood out of the thing, despite only barely contacting. He gives a frustrated growl, and turns back to the cubs. ~Do I rage at you? Do I act the full moon, all senselessly violent? Have I /ever/ ripped you up because I was angry or you did wrong? What else can I do? I think! I consider the effects of your punishment. You have questions - more information needed to fulfil a task, you /ask/! Stupid!~ The crinosed form raises his fists and growls again.
The elder cub continues her argument. Spins think too. Long time. Talk with Nails and kin boy. We supposed to act like new moon, but new moon supposed to see flaw in plans. Spins see flaw with lock up plans, Nails too. Spins and Nails act like new moons. We show flaws. Flaw that cubs need things to do other than watch Weaver picture box.
Walks-Thin-Ice points a claw at Spins. ~And the path of the full-moon is the warrior! Think your actions through!~ He jabs the claw angrily towards the moon. ~You /wanted/ me to hunt you down? Frenzy on you? Kill you to /prove your point/? You are ignorant. You don't know Cat-Killer's plans. Do not /assume/. Ask questions. You were close to being let free again. How am I meant to trust you to not assume, now? Must I watch you every minute of your lives?~
Spins-in-Circles sets her head back down. Of course Spins does not know Cat-Killer's plans. That is Spins' point. Not possible to guess what elders' plans are. Try hard and got wrong answer as Spins sees. Tell cubs plans and cubs do right.
Walks-Thin-Ice's snout wrinkles a little, as teeth are bared angrily. ~WRONG.~ he barks and takes a quick step forward to kick Spins-in-Cirles in the side, viciously. ~Cubs don't know plans. Cubs /do what they are told/ and cubs do right!~ he barks again. ~Fighting in the sewer - I ordered Kaz to conjure element onto an energy bane. Water. On electricty and two Garou. They fell, but the bane was weakened for me to finish it off. We all lived. The order was questionable. But it /should not be questioned/. Kaz is soft. Against the same situation, Banecruncher died. Think.~
Spins yipes in pain at the kick. Leave dog in box and dog will crawl out. Nothing to do in box but sit. How does person punish dog already in box? She's getting a little less coherent.
Nails splays his ears in sympathy and confusion at the yelp of pain and the tale of water and electricity. Give cubs a goal, he whimpers. Nails wants to be useful, but does not know how.
Walks-Thin-Ice kicks again, a little harder. ~You're not understanding! Do I have to beat it into you! We are not dogs! We are Garou! We are Walker! We are /nearly human/! Weaver! It's how we work more effectively. We understand. Don't give that away!~ He kicks another time. ~You were close. You only had to obey orders - it would have ended soon, whether you knew it or not. You had to /trust/. Sophia is free and a cub! Did you think we would keep you there? Think! Trust! It is what we require of you!~
More howls of pain from the kicks and Spins-in-Circles quiets down. She's still right, she thinks, but Walks-Thin-Ice's argument of pain wins her silence for now.
Nails sits silently, though he does flinch at the sound of each howl. He looks at his side instead of toward his tribemates, considering if he wants to get a better look at the damage.
Walks-Thin-Ice eyes the more heavily-wounded Nails, as he stops the kicking. ~I told you I needed to trust you. You knew this. You did not trust me. I /told/ you. Spelled it out, because I thought you'd have trouble. Now you two fear punishment. And you will do as told, because from now on I use claws. No mercy. But /how can I trust you/?~ He looks to Spins, and snarls. ~You smile and nod and think to do other things behind my back? So what will you do when you are sincere?~ He gives one last vicious kick to the older cub, and turns his back, moving far away enough that he won't be tempted to do it again. ~It makes me sick.~
For a minute, Spins-in-Circles considers just staying silent, but instead, she barks her disaproval. Trust is nothing to do with it. We trust you to teach what to do. What to do when no teach and leave in box? We must make guess of plans. New moon said to be sneaky, so we try and be sneaky. Then bite in foot when trust come up. We trust you have plans but Wyrm works idle paws. Leave plant alone and plant grows where it please, toward the sun. Must tend plant so not overgrown.
Nails grimaces at his cubmate's analogy, and sincerely hopes nobody decides to weed quite yet. Trust is a tricky thing. We bite ourselves in foot, this time. Broken trust, broken ~Honor~ with elders. We know better for next time, and we need a next time to /be/, first.
Walks-Thin-Ice pauses as he moves away, and tilts his head a little, listening. ~This is the point. We must be strong, but we must be /disciplined/. I do not have to tell you anything. Submission to those of Higher Station. You can assume I know more than you do. In combat I will give orders and Garou /will/ follow them, or I will rip their throats out, myself. As I would rip up a plant that grows towards the Wyrm, thinking it is the sun. You learn /now/ that if I order it, you will do what you do not see sense in, and do not enjoy. Learn from Banecruncher. He never even knew me, he did whatever dangerous things I told him. He followed orders. He was a /good/ dog. And while I was commanding, he did not die, and we were victorious.~
Spins-in-Circles huffs disaprovingly at her cubmate. Trust not broken. Elders make message not clear. If not clear then message get heard wrong. Do wrong stuff. Elders mad because they make cloudy message and see not right stuff done. Spins wrong for doing wrong stuff, but Elders wrong for cloudy message and not seeing it being cloudy. Spins follow to best seeing.
And Nails followed a fool. Orders clear enough if we had looked. No orders? No change in what we do! He stops, unable to phrase an analogy properly in this form, and shakes his head.
Walks-Thin-Ice turns abruptly and strides over to Spins to give another swift, hard kick. ~Arrogant pup. Listen to Nails. You forgot the rule. Trust is the Litany. Submission to higher station. Following rules and orders, and /doing as we say/, because we said it. /That/ message was made clear. You disobeyed. /Disobedience/...~ He puncuates the word by kicking again. ~...is wrong. Even if you /think/ you are right, with wrong information... A no-moon who breaks the first law to prove a point is a dead no-moon.~
Spins-in-Circles barks, angry. Nails has brown nose and Rhya have pig nose. Spins see what wrong and help inform Rhya. Spins not be quiet and take kicking. Spins do wrong and tell why. Rhya ears not want to work and Rhya rather kick cub. Spins sees no intelligence in situation.
Nails growls at his cub-sister. Spins /has/ no intelligence in situation, is why. Stop. Think. Then open jaws and not put all four paws in. Spins already said she did wrong, why does she continue to fight? Nomoons supposed to make others think, but must think themselves first!
Walks-Thin-Ice reaches down and picks up Spins, with one hand - he's able to lift her by the neck, easily, and a bit of the shoulders, too. He stares into her face, his own red eyes flashing with an angry light. ~Listen carefully. I accept that you think you were hard done by - not knowing what the test was for, or that it was even being taken, and for failing because of that. Accept that it was not planned by me, but it has served this purpose. Accept that while you have a mind that can think, it will not always be right, because there is so much that you do not know. Accept that what you did was wrong.~ Clawed fingers start to tighten a little, around the neck. ~Answer me yes or no. Do you accept these truths?~
A bit scared as she is first picked up, Spins-in-Circles calms once she hears what is being said. Spins accepts. Spins sees words as truth.
A startled Nails involuntarily tries to jump to his feet as Spins is picked up, but drops back down when his side protests with the very convincing argument of pain. He listens quietly as the question and answer are given.
Walks-Thin-Ice's grip eases, and he winds up just letting the wolf fall to the ground. Uncaring of her pain, he grunts, ~Then you can still be salvaged.~ Turning away from the dropped cub, and starting to shift down into glabro, he adds gruffly, "We camp out here tonight. You will be able to walk a little better by tomorrow. A half-moon with the truth of Gaia will test you with questions of my choosing. And we will decide whether the effort of salvaging will be worth it."
Spins-in-Circles does cry out in pain as she is dropped in a bloody lump onto the ground. She twitches a bit once there but shows approval for the plan to stay the night there by not moving from where she lie.
The plan gets the same approval from Nails, whose only movement is to occasionally move his head to watch John or regard Spins.
John stalks off, muttering something about 'idiot cubs' and 'size of the fucking moon' and doesn't return for quite a while. But when he does, it's in hispo, with a deer carcass in his mouth. The three are fed for the night, and John begins gathering large, leavy green leaves, and dirt, and begins to perform a strange ritual of whispered prayers, before disappearing for a few more minutes, carrying the leaves off out of sight, before returning and shifting down to lupus to curl by the deer carcass.