Currently the moon is in the waxing Gibbous Moon phase (78% full).
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 74 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the west at 9 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 29.87 and steady, and the relative humidity is 48 percent. The dewpoint is 53 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius.)
It is currently 18:14 Pacific Time on Thu Aug 30 2001.
Lane(#300RJ)
Stretching a good quarter mile from the road, this gravel lane leads back to the Escrowe farm. Trees line the lane, leaves filling out on the limbs to fill the sky with fresh green clouds. In the distance, the farmhouse looms above the treetops, gleaming white as the snow from its yearly coat of paint. Silence prevails here, save for the rustling of the tall grasses in the fields when the wind blows.
The front entrance to the farmhouse is on the porch alongside the gravelled road which continues on around the eastern side of the house back to the barnyard. The opposite end of the lane turns back west to empty out onto Sunrise Road.
Dizzy pulls up on the dirt road and parks her Beetle across the lane from the farmhouse. She sighs as she takes off her seatbelt, "It really sucks, whenever I come up here I've always got to take my car to the wash. Why can't they pave this stupid road?" She takes the keys out of the ignitian and slides out of the car.
Corey unbuckles his seat belt and slips out the other side. "Well, think about it, there's supposed to be a bunch of giant-arsed wolves here. I kinda doubt they'd appreciate the place smelling like new asphalt for a week or more." He looks around and adds more quietly, "Doesn't look like much. Nice place, but..."
Dizzy glances over to her cubmate, closing the door, "Yeah, well, I'm glad at least our tribe knows the whatfor about the Weaver and all." She presses a button on her keychain, causing the car to beep, indicating that the doors have been locked and the alarm activated. "But, you can always find people around here, expecially other cubs."
Corey eyes the car for a moment after the alarm is activated, a mischevious glint in his eyes. Wake-up call, anybody? He decides to make a good first impression instead, and walks toward the porch. "I'll be glad to meet anyone new, cub or otherwise."
Porch
A lathe-turned wooden railing runs the length of the porch save where the steps are, well-worn with use. To the right of the stairs, a wide swing is suspended from the overhang which shelters this area; to the left, a small table is the centerpiece for several chairs pulled around it, all of which face out to the front yard and the fields and trees beyond. The entire area holds an atmosphere of peace and comfort during these summer days, lending itself well to evening reading, small talk, or just watching the stars. Low shrubs snuggle up to the porch held back by the railing, their flowers filling the air with the sweet scent of greenery.
An aging screen door newly refurbished stands between the heavy inner door of the house and the outside air. Four steps lead down to the lane, a number of pots with small flower seedling carefully arranged alongside them.
Dizzy walks across the lane and hops up the couple of steps onto the porch. "Sometimes you can even find people sitting out here." She walks over to the door and presses on the doorbell.
Corey leans against the rail once he's up. "Anything in particular I should be warned about, here? Strange things? Strange customs? Strange /people/?" The last is added with a grin, though it's the one real difficulty he worries about here.
Dizzy grins back, "Strange people? Depends on if you consider nine foot wolf people strange?" She laughs, "I've hardly been here enough times myself. Everyone that I've met here is strange, and thus, they are normal in their strangeness."
Corey rolls his eyes. "Sheesh. You could have just said 'no stranger than at the Walker house'." Again, the smile when he says it.
The door opens quite swiftly in and of itself, despite the delay. Jervis stands on the other side of the threshold, lit cigarette dangling from his lips. "Dizzy?" he asks, slowly and frowning. He gives the unfamiliar Walker a glance, but not much more.
"What?" Dizzy asks in mock disbelief, "Strange people at the Roach Motel? Why who there is strange, well, except for John and Rog and Cindy and Sophie and Hops?" She giggles and rolls her eyes, turning slightly towards the door as it's opened. "Hi!" she offers a raised hand in a sign of greeting.
Corey adds to Dizzy, "And you and me and Daisy?" He turns his head to regard the unknown face. "Hi, what's up? We were given directions to the zoo's wolf exhibit and somehow ended up here. Lemme guess, they're inside today?" So much for the whole first impression thing.
Jervis takes a drag, smiling a little, but clearly not finding any humor. "No. I'm sorry. This is a sanatorium." It's all very dead pan and matter of fact, even bitter. He turns to Dizzy. "So--Visiting on business or pleasure?"
"Pleasure, sirrah," replies Dizzy. "Corey bugged me to show him the place where _all_ the hip cubs hang out." She pokes her head out, trying to look into the house, "So, anything interesting going on?"
Jervis smirks. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. The, uhm, jacuzzi is on the fritz, I'm afraid, and the masseuse is off today, but--Come in, come in." He waves for the Walker cubs to enter.
Jervis opens the front door with a creak, and walks through, closing the door behind.
Farmhouse: Hallway and Living Room
All doorways in the front part of the house lead to the front hallway, a J-shaped area with the short tail starting at the stairs, the front door hitting the bottom curve, the doorless opening to the living room halfway up the long side, and the also doorless opening to the kitchen and dining room at the very top. The hall has a simple wooden floor, and decorated with a generic print of soft-colored flowers hanging on the wall to the right of the front door, and a tall table sitting under the print which serves as a place to toss keys. A closet under the stairs serves as a place to hang coats or to toss shoes.
The doorless opening to the living room is halfway up the side of the hall's J, and the word cozy might spring to mind when looking into is, as it seems to radiate comforting vibrations. A long couch sits against the south wall beneath a large bay window curtained only by sheers that manages to obscure the view in but only filters the day's light. A variety of out-of-date magazines are strewn atop a low coffee table; more neatly presented are the plethora of books filling the small bookshelves which line the eastern wall. Three chairs sit about the room, focused inward, to allow group conversations. Large floor pillows are stacked in one corner of the room, except one, which lies carelessly in the middle of the floor, apparently left out the last time it was used.
An opening in the northern end of the hallway allows access to the kitchen and dining room at the back of the house, while carpeted stairs twist up at the other end of the hall, leading to the second floor. A door at the base of the J lets out to the front porch.
Kit lounges on the floor next to the couch with half a sandwich in her hand, ham and swiss cheese on sourdough. Next to her sits an open can of Mountain Dew. She currently seems to be studying the ceiling as she munches away.
Corey looks vaguely disappointed as he enters. "Oh, darn. I don't suppose the heated pool needs filling, as well?" He glances around, apparently trying to memorize the place's layout in one swell foop. Kit gets special attention as he spots her.
Well, if it's one thing the farmhouse is never in short supply of, it's garou that Dizzy doesn't particularly like. She doesn't even give Kit a nod of acknowlegement as she steps in. "This is where I met Helen, she's the one who did the clothes thingy for me," she informs Corey.
Jervis walks in, leading them. "Helen--why do I know that name--oh! Um." He's giggling over something, briefly. "Please, sit down, make yourselves comfortable--if you can." He gestures first to the chairs and sofa, and then to Kit. "And I don't believe I know you?" He absently points to Corey, "Don't know you either, but I'll get to you." He's like a conductor, for a minute. Back to Kit, expectant.
Kit's head raises up as she hears the door open. She smiles... until she sees Dizzy. "Great. Babes in the woods," she whispers probably too quietly to be heard. She stands up and takes a seat on the couch, offering a wave to the three cubs. "Yo," she greets as she takes another bite from her sandwich.
Corey picks one of the seats and does attempt to make himself comfortable. At least, that's what would would assume, given the odd position he puts himself in but appears to like. Since Kit doesn't seem forthcoming with an introduction by the time he's settled, he chips in, "Corey Randle, Hits-the-Nail-on-the-Head, Walker raggie cub. And who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
Dizzy takes a seat silently, facing towards Corey and Jervis as she sits. She takes off her sunglasses and pockets them, listening to introductions she's already heard.
Jervis just kind of smirks at Kit's huff, and seats himself, taking another drag. "Jervis Michaels" he says, "Ragabash, Silver Fang cub." He adds, in a tone that _almost_ sounds friendly. "'Yo' is a deed name in this case, or--?"
Kit smiles faintly as she chases down her snack with a swig of the Dew. "Kit, Philodox Cliath of the Black Furies. Also known as Little-Cat." She raises an eyebrow at the Ragtag bunch of Cubs. "What're you all doing out at the farmhouse?"
"We heard this was where all the action is, and we were looking for a new hang. So, two and two, and we're out here." Corey pauses and looks between Dizzy and Kit, starting to put another two and two together.
It shouldn't be too hard to figure it out, Dizzy makes it pretty clear when she isn't too fond of a person. "So, Jarvis, what have you been up to lately?" she asks.
Jervis bites his lip between drags, to keep the slight smirk on his face from growing any larger. "Oh, up to? --tolerating, and not much else. How's Jeremy and Sophie, by the way? Haven't heard much from any of you Walkers in a while."
Dena comes ambling back from where you can't be reached by telephone, looking tired, somewhat sweaty, and slightly grumpy. She blinks at all the cubs. "Hullo?"
Corey winces, his calculations having reached the stage where he knows /that/ is a touchy subject. "I don't know about Dizzy, but I haven't seen Soph for a while. She's been out Caern-wards, looking for teachers. Much like I should start doing, soon," he adds almost to himself.
In the back of the house, Adam comes in, as opposed to Dena, from the outside. He's not as much grumpy as he is without expression at the moment, as he meanders towards the fridge. Water. That's good. He pulls out one of the bottled ones, and cracks it open, the plastic seal snapping audibly.
"Sophie's been wandering the bawn, looking for a theurge to learn from, I think. Jeremy got a good job at some computer store and just bought a new car," Dizzy says. She turns to look at Dena, "Hello..." Dizzy's pretty sure she's met this one, she's just not sure who she is.
Kit raises an eyebrow at Dizzy before standing and brushing the crumbs off her pants. She hmfs quietly to herself before heading to the kitchen with her soda can in hand. "Later guys," she says over her shoulder with a smile to the others in the room.
Dena supplies, "Dena. Ardenas Kostenas. Also known as Serendipity's Shadow, and Guards the Desolate Shore. I've only been here a month or so -- Before that I led a Pegasus pack at Gaia's Bones. I'm Black Fury, ahroun, and Adren, and I think you're Amanda, yes?"
Jervis begins to hide his semi-apparent amusement with everything a bit better now. To Dena he offers a nod of recognition, and ashes as he waits for things to pan out.
In the back of the house, Adam's eyebrows lift. Oh, introductions, he thinks and heads towards the living room. Once there, he leans against the wall, looking at each one in turn with a curious eye.
[Adam]
It's as if a model stepped out of one of those teen heartthrob magazines, and stands breathing before you. Standing at 6'3" with a track runner's physique, this teenager stands straight with his hands in the pockets. His face is flawless with high cheekbones, a small nose, and not a blemish to be seen. His hair is sun-bleached blond, darkening at the roots, and falls just above heart-stopping, cornflower-blue eyes. He appears to be in his late teens.
His clothes are new, just out of the Eddie Bauer shopping bag. He's wearing a pair of kakhi slacks above sturdy Timberland boots, and the edges of a pair of gloves can be seen peeking out of the pockets of a black-colored ski jacket, the inside lining red in color. Under the jacket can be seen a marroon wool sweater.
Adren? Hello! Corey swings around to sit up normally in the chair for a better look. "Er, hi. Did you catch my earlier introduction?" He hopes she did, by the look on his face.
Dena says, uncertainly, "I think I was in the bathroom at that point."
Dizzy looks down at her lap and swallows, embarressed. "Uh.. Call me Dizzy, please," she asks meekly. Ah, this was the garou that she met in the caern with Sophia. The walker cub looks over to the most recent arrival. She smiles at him. Wow, he's cute.
Alicia hips the front door opens and walks inside, strutting her stuff. She's carrying that guitar of hers over one shoulder as usual, dressed warmly for the night.
Jervis seems to fade into the woodwork, now. Non-chalantly extinguishing his cigarette, and folding his hands.
"I haven't," says the tall blond man leaning against the wall. Adam smiles, a slight upturn of his lips, nodding to Alicia as he enters. "Again, I appear to be out of touch," he adds, good-naturedly.
In the back of the house, Irene steps into the kitchen and brushes dirty hands against equally dirty jeans. Moving over to the sink, she washes her hands and in so doing catches sight of a plate of recently made peanut butter cookies. She grabs two cookies and heads toward the sound of voices through the dining room toward the entryhall and front sitting room.
In the back of the house, Irene passes through the open doorway for the front part of the house.
Corey glances to Adam, then at Alicia as she enters and gives her a small smile. The smile drops and he sighs. "Corey Randle, also known as Hits-the-Nail-on-the-Head. Ragabash cub of the Glass Walkers." He makes a face. "Geez that starts to sound more pretentious each time I say it."
Dizzy looks over at the sound of Alicia's entrance, "Hi!" She stands up from her seat and brushes her bangs behind her ears, preparing her own introduction. "I am Amanda Bradstreet, Ragabash Glass Walker cub. Called Spins in Circles and Protects Others from Themselves." She shoots Alicia a small grin at the last part. "Call me Dizzy, though, please."
[Irene]
Long legs proudly declare the African heritage of a woman with an objective dark gaze. However, muscles borne of running do not seem to weigh Irene down when she moves; fleet and dark-skinned, she traverses wild spaces with the ease and ambition of someone who has spent a lifetime in them. Her hair is a mass of tiny braids that, loose, would just reach her shoulders. She wears it parted on one side and pulled back at the nape of her neck. Her dark complexion is clean and wholly natural save for the lip balm she religiously keeps in her pocket.
Clothing serves function: dusty blue-jeans with both butt and knees long ago stained dark with earth and grass; a slate gray tshirt with some faded lettering across the right front and a circular image across the back; a coarse, South-American style, over-the head sweater, the weatherproof sort that hangs just past the hips. She owns a pair of lightweight workboots (not nearly the quality of hiking boots) that she, more often than not, reviles in favor of her thickly calloused bare feet. On her right thumb she wears a gold ring inscribed with the ancient Greek key pattern.
Jervis' eyebrows quirk in an eccentrically worried-looking position. "Jervis Michaels. Ragabash Cub. Silver Fang." He says it slowly, pre-occupied. Eyes don't betray by what, though.
Irene scans those present, stopping at the edge of the room. She offers the Adren Fury a brief nod if she catches her gaze and then flickers a somewhat querying glance to Adam.
Adam tilts his head to the side, at Corey, as his teeth flash in mirth. "I disagree, Mr. Randle," he admits. "I think it says a lot in few words." Irene gets a beaming smile as the dark-haired woman enters. "Need to talk to you later," he says, conspiratorially. And the female Walker cub gets an appraisal. "Dizzy..." he says, going with her request and not using 'Ms. Bradstreet.' "I'll have to remember a whole new set of names, come Autumn. And, I'll bet that name comes in handy, or it will." Jervis gets a nod of approval, as Adam smiles, again. Hey, it's new people. Always a good thing. ""Good to meet you as well, Mr. Michaels." And, once done, he starts off on his own. "Adam Bowden, Dies-for-Others. Cliath," and is that his teeth grinding slightly at that word? "Philodox with the Children of Gaia, Groundskeeper of the Sept, Beta of the Guardian pack Vigilant Rampart, son of Wyvern. Nice to meet you all."
The quite distinctive sound of a large-motored vehicle, minus a pesky thing such as a muffler, growls its way closer to the farmhouse. Sharply then, it stops. A few heavy footfalls on the porch, as though someone takes the steps in a hurried, hopping manner, and then comes a sharp knock on the door.
Corey shakes his head, the corners of his mouth quirking upward as he looks to Adam. "CJ, please. I'm not important enough to feel like Mister Anything yet." He looks beyond Adam, and gives a friendly nod to Irene.
In the back of the house, Alec's entrance by contrast is quite soft and quiet. A simple knock and then he makes his way into the kitchen. "Allo? Es anyone ici?" His voice quiets down as he hears the voices from the Living Room.
Dena nods faintly to Corey, and is in the process of drifting toward the kitchen, shooting a smile to Irene, when doors are knocked upon. "Grand Central," she mutters, and heads for the kitchen, raising her eyebrow at the Kin. "Hullo?"
Irene follows Adam's lead, piping up in a clear tone from where she stands at the outer edge of the room, nearly in the foyer rather than the living room. "Irene Runs-the-Line, philodox cliath of Gaia's Children. I'm the one you'll see overhauling the garden, at least until the first hard frost." She gestures with a bit of a smile touching her dark eyes toward the northeast side of the house to where the garden is between the house and the forest edge of the bawn. Her words are strangely rounded but not so foreignly enunciated to be described as accented. She holds up a half eaten cookie. "And whoever is responsible for these I thank from the bottom of my compost pile."
Dizzy is quite visably surprised with both who this Mr. Bowden is, and the way he refers to people by their last names. She just didn't want to be called Amanda. Oh well. She glances at the front door, the noise from outside catching her attention, and then looks toward the back. Apparently the farmhouse is more magnetic than the safehouse.
Obviously the person at the front door isn't familiar with the farmhouse, as, yet again, there's a knock.
Irene turns, as she's closest to the door, and moves to it to open it.
Jervis leans back, vaguely uncomfortable. "That'd be the keg." he says, jokingly but softly.
Adam takes another sip of bottled water, and pushes himself from the wall as people speak up. Ok, take care of things, when they come. "It'll be all right, CJ," he says to Corey. "But when you do, tell me." Into the kitchen, he calls, "In here, Dr. St. Jean." And the sound of the motor outside gets his interest. "Matt?" he wonders aloud, since he knly knows one person with a motor that loud.
Adam gives Jervis a small, secret smile. "Ah, tradition."
In the back of the house, Alec passes through the open doorway for the front part of the house.
[Alec]
Really? There isn't anything special about the man you're looking at right now. He's just sort of... average. He's close to six feet tall, maybe two hundred pounds? Really, if you were to see his face in a crowd he would blend in and not stick out in any way. That's the way he'd like it to be however for all of that it is rarely the case.
Black touqe tops his head, and going down from there is a similar colour all the way. What looks to be a black one piece jump suit is what he wears. Pockets bulging in various places belie the fact that he's carrying alot of gear. Webbing and a rucksack complete the storage capacity and a sturdy pair of jumpboots adorn his feet. Black, gee, surprise wasn't it?
And the door swings open to reveal, for the most part, a complete stranger. Who is leaning rather casually on the door frame when the door is finally opened. She straightens, somewhat, and announces, "Er, yes. Hello." She frowns a moment, craning her neck as if to see past the woman in front of her. "I'm, uh, looking for someone named Dena?"
[Zoe]
Standing about six foot three, posssessed of an angular, yet athletic build, she blends in well with the 'young urban biker goth' crowd. Reddish-auburn hair, the ends spiked blue, frames a narrow face, with deep-set, dark eyes, a thin, aquiline nose, and lips that seem constantly upturned in a knowing smirk. Her moods seem as mercurial as the weather, one moment seeming bored and nonchalant, the next, brooding and angry. Several earrings of the surgical steel hoop variety outline the edge of her left ear, with only half again as many in the right. A small barbell is pierced through the outside corner of her left eyebrow. She wears oversized black cargo-pants, the hems puddling over a pair of black-and-orange 'flame-tipped' oxfords. A tight black tee-shirt reading, "I did NOT escape. They gave me a day pass..." skims her waist, revealing a black, blue, and orange tribal flame tattoo circling her belly button.
Alec's eyebrows lift up as he sees Dena and he says, "Oui, allo!" Well isn't this a surprise, well, not really all things considered. A hand waves up and over to Adam. "Bon soir Adam et al. I do be here again with my collection of food etcetera for you all." He looks to Dena with a smile. "Alec Sainte Jean. A pleasure." And a hand offered.
Adam is smiling at the Kin, then his head whips around to the front door. His eyes narrow just so as he inhales sharply.
Corey looks toward the front door, surprised. "Wow. This place really is the center of the universe. Or is it not always this busy?"
Dizzy looks over the croud at her cubmate, giving him a questioning glance. She looks over towards the front door to see who it is and then goes back to Corey.
Irene takes Zoe in with a thorough, musing but level gaze. "Of /course/ you are," she answers evenly, taking a step back and glancing past the other side of the door toward the kitchen. "Dena," she says in that clear tone of hers.
Dena takes the hand. Her grip is firm, but not excessively so. "Dena. Are you fami--" and breaks off in the middle of her sentence. Her grip is... rather too firm, all of a sudden. She has, in fact, gone utterly motionless, for just an instant, which, given her general state of restlessness, is startling. And then she's just /moving/, not caring just who she's knocking over, on her way over to the door. Any grace she usually has is completely gone; she's just going for speed. She also doesn't look as if she's going to stop when she gets there.
Adam is calm. No, really. He takes an ever-so-casual sip of water, since he knows that someone's her for Dena, and he really wants to know more. As Dena takes off like the title of a famous Meat Loaf album, Adam takes a more level-headed approach. Beaten into him by Guardian Training, as he sniffs the air again, just so, sniffing for scent of the Wyrm.
Jervis smirks at Corey, about to say something--and then Dena. His head pivots, following the Fury, startled.
Alicia settles down on the floor and pulls her guitar into her lap, smiling to those who said Hello to her, giving a nod here and there.
Dizzy takes a step back to avoid being hit by the Five-Oh-Dena and sits back down in the chair she prevously had occupied.
Moving away from the door when an Adren ahroun is hurtling toward it is a wise choice. This is exactly what Irene does, taking three quick steps backward and glancing sharply to Adam before looking back to the two ahrouns in the doorway.
Zoe barely has time to register what Irene says, much less say "Thank you," before she's bracing for impact.
Adam looks over, and catches Irene's eyes. He mouths the words, 'Garou,' and 'She's clean' to her, with a shrugs, which if put into words, would then say 'Fuck all if I know who she is.'
Corey double-takes at the sudden blur of motion that is Dena and mutters, "Whoah. High-speed hard-impact greetings. Hallmark eat your heart out."
The Adren /slams/ Zoe up against the door frame she's leaning on, and just stares at her wildly from the distance of about a foot, if that. Then she takes Zoe's t-shirt in both fists and brings her a little closer. "You're /dead/," she grates, in a voice that's almost a whisper, except it's far too harsh for that.
Irene casts Adam a somewhat edged smile that barely graces the corners of her lips before she again turns her attention to 'This is your life' in the doorway, unabashedly watching with a rapt if dispassionate fascination.
Adam speaks up. "Then we have a serious problem here," he says. He knows for a fact that the mysterious auburn-haired new woman is not dead, so decides to make his presence known. He concentrates for a moment, as he reaches for the Gift that tells truth from Lies.
Not knowing who Dena is, Alec after taking half a second to recover from the whirling dervish of Dena says, kind of loudly. "Someone stop her before she does!"
Seeing that the danger of becoming a roach pancake has passed, Dizzy stands back up and makes her way over to Corey. "Almost like the safehouse, huh?" She stagewispers to him.
The taller woman lets her body go limb as Dena crashes into her. A fleeting flash of temper passes over Zoe's features, but conditioning and instinct drive it back. "No," she manages, her raspy voice even more hoarse from the sudden impact and lack of air, "... just on the edge of death."
Jervis watches the situation intently from his chair. Startlement gone, now he's more like a film critic, eyes on Dena.
Corey nods enthusiastically. "Except a little more up close and personal." Same not-quite-a-whisper tone back. "She's looking pretty decent if she's a corpse, I do have to say. Pity we'd have to stake her."
Irene takes a slow-motion bite of cookie, leaning back against the bannister post at the base of the stairway and watching, her stance deceivingly casual. Her silence stretches out.
"Stake her?" Dizzy asks, obliviously, "Like a Vampire?" She gives Corey a quizzical look.
Dena shoves Zoe back into the doorframe, still looking a little wild. There's no particular amount of control here. Her hands are clenched as tight as they can be clenched; she looks as if she'd like to murder something, except the utter and complete joy in her tone is also unmistakable. "What the /fuck/, Zee? What the /hell/? I couldn't--" She breaks off, and just looks at her, slightly more distance between the women, now. 3 feet, maybe?
Adam gives a short look to the Walker cubs, with a shake of his head. "Not necessary," he says.
Jervis frowns at Dena's tone, but is otherwise stoic, still watching intently.
Zoe just watches the other Fury for a moment, rubbing her arm slowly... almost absentmindedly, from where she was shoved into the doorframe. "No one could. Speaks did /something/. I don't understand what. Even she lost me." Apparently Zoe's adept at deciphering delirious-Dena-speak.
Corey gives short nods to Adam and Dizzy, asking the latter, "John said anything to you about vampires?" He gives the reunion in the door scant attention, figuring the two need some time to work out Issues.
Alec relaxes a little as the tone in voice shifts and he smiles again. His hand moves away from his side where comfortably rests his sidearm. (Don't leave home without it.) With a slight 'Ooof.' He lets down the pack on his back and leans it up against a wall. Watching the drama unfold, hey, it's not going to be a boring night after all.
"Jesus Christ, Zee, I--" She breaks off again, swallowing hard, completely losing speech for a moment as she tries to stop the sudden flood of emotion rising in her voice. After a moment, she just grabs the other woman into a bearhug, long and hard.
Irene finishes off the second of her two peanut butter cookies and licks some crumbs from her lips absently. A glance around suddenly jars her out of whatever fascinated mode she was in and she turns to head over to Adam, murmuring to him, "... when you have a moment." She gestures toward the kitchen. "I'm crashing in the Taj Mahal."
Dizzy stares wide-eyed at Corey for a second, then takes a deep breath, calming herself. "Well, if werewolves exist..." She shakes her head, "No, John didn't say anything to me." She glances over to the excitement at the door and then back to the younger Walker cub. "Do you still wanna stick out around here?"
"Well if someone could give me a hand unloading the food into the freezer I would be grateful." Alec lets the two have their reunion in peace. With another small grunt, he lifts up the rucksack and trundles off into the kitchen.
Adam lets his eyes follow Irene, and he nods, once. This might take a while, so he does follow the other Gaian into the kitchen.
Like a snap, Jervis' interest is gone. He turns away just in time to miss the hug. He retrieves a cigarette from his pocket. "Well, with _that_ out of the way--" he gets up and heads toward the back door, those last words said quasi-softly.
Irene heads to the kitchen, grabs another cookie and then makes her way outside into the night with the other philodox.
Zoe has, apparently, no idea what to say at this point. And, quite honestly, if an Adren Ahroun who was just throttling you takes to hugging you, who's gonna argue with said Adren.
Jervis goes through the aperture at the northern end of the front hallway to enter the back room of the house.
Adam follows Irene out. Where were those cookies. Oh, there. He snags one for himself as he goes.
In the back of the house, Jervis slides open the door in the kitchen, passing through into the back yard.
Adam leaves through the front door. You can hear the screen door swing shut again with a clatter.
Corey glances about. The party's winding down, apparently. He asks with a slight smirk, "Got a hot date tonight or something, Diz? But, yeah, we can go if you want." Getting out of the chair, he looks for an exit that won't disturb Dena and friend, if at all possible.
Eventually, Dena stops hugging Zoe, but it takes awhile. In a much more subdued tone, she asks, "So-- What /did/ happen? If you're not-- /dead/."
Zoe shrugs faintly. "I'm not really sure. Hell, Speaks was in almost as much shock as you are when I wandered in. I'm..." she rubs the back of her neck. "I'm really not even sure where to /start/."
Dizzy shakes her head, glancing at the sudden abandonment of the room, "Nah, I just didn't want to be in the way. But, by the look of things, that's not going to be a problem anymore." She watches as Jervis takes his leave, pondering following and bumming a smoke from him.
In the back of the house, With the Pantry door open and the deep freeze propped up Alec starts to unload food into the freezer. Pound after pound of steaks, roasts, chops and other assorted goodies are unloaded. A look to the people who just keep on walking out the back door get a slight smirk and a shake of the head. Kids.
Dena suddenly comes back to general reality, glances around, and mutters, "There's one way to clear a room." She quirks a smile that almost manages not to waver. "I'm gonna pull that story out of you if it takes all night. You wanna do it in here, or you wanna go, um, somewhere else?"
Zoe glances around, really, for the first time. "Um. Wherever's good for you."
Dena looks fixedly at the living room. "Christ, Zoe, I dunno. We might actually get through the damn story if we stay here. C'mon, sit, eat somethin', tell me where the fuck you've /been/ for 5 months."
Corey walks into the kitchen, and starts to give Alec a hand. Hey, may as well be useful if he's around here.
Zoe glances around, "Eating's good..." she comments quietly, almost subdued. She frowns, "I'm still not sure where to even /start/."
Dena points at the kitchen. "Food. Eat. This's sort of a safehouse, so whatever." She seems to have forgotten Alec. "As for where to start -- beginning always works."
Dizzy follows Corey into the kitchen. Not wanting to intrude on the conversation taking place in the living room. Perhaps she will go out and ask Jervis for a cig after all.
Corey goes through the aperture at the northern end of the front hallway to enter the back room of the house.
Farmhouse: Kitchen and Dining Room
Homey is the first word to come to mind when looking at the farmhouse's kitchen. Dark, wood-paneled wainscoting covers the walls to about waist height, dark beige wallpaper continuing to the ceiling. Twin refrigerators occupy the north wall, facing the large six-burner stove on the south. The kitchen counter runs the length of the eastern wall, broken only by the double-basin sink. Cabinets run above and below the counter and a twin-pane window is set in the wall above the sink. A small pantry is set into an alcove alongside the refrigerators, presumably holding the deep freezer as well as shelves of dry goods.
Some twelve feet above the floor, a large chandelier hangs from the ceiling, lighting the dining room and casting long shadows over the bar to the kitchen. A long table occupies the center of the dining room, three chairs setting along each side, and one on each end. On the west wall, a large window looks out on the trees alongside the western pasture. Set into the north wall is a large cabinet, its glass doors closed on shelves containing a full compliment of fine china and glassware as well as a few decorative nicknacks. On the east, a wide bar separates the dining room from the kitchen.
An opening in the southern wall allows passage to the front entryway of the house, while a sliding glass door in the kitchen opens to a clearing behind the house.
Barnyard
The lane wends its way back and around the farmhouse to here, where it widens into a broad, grassy sward contained only by the woods which encircle it on three sides. Buildings break up the purity of the landscape: an open-sided structure which serves as a garage and the big barn, empty of livestock, to the east. A good-sized vegetable and herb garden furrows the land south of the barn, while a pyramid-like pile of rocks, of similar consistency to the gravel of the lane, rests a few yards south of the garage.
North of the buildings, the fields have long been fallow, hastening a conversion from farmland to natural prarier. A sliding glass door allows admittance to the farmhouse, the interior obscured by Levolor(tm) blinds in a wood-grain pattern. The lane leads out around the house to the southwest. The discerning can just barely pick out the beginnings of a faint path into the woods towards the southeast.
Dizzy steps out of the farmhouse, looking out for Jervis.
Jervis is propped up against the wall, next the door, smoking what must be his second Kamel. He nods to Dizzy. "Hello." he says, uncharacteristically plain.
"Hey," Dizzy replies, "Can I bum a cig?" She looks back towards the farmhouse, "It was getting a little stuffy in there, eh?"
Jervis smiles, and produces an extra. "That's a nice word for it. So--how's Sophia, really?" He pauses as she takes the Kamel from his hand. "I saw her once, out here. She seems really out of sorts."
Dizzy shrugs, happilly releaving him of his extra cancer stick. "That's it, really. I dunno when the last time you talked to her, she dumped Jeremy and decided to spend some time around the caern looking for training." She digs around in her jacket pocket and finally produces a lighter. "I dunno past that," she admits, lighting up.
Jervis says "Whatever for? He seemed like such a nice kid."
Dizzy takes a long drag, and sighs happilly. It's been too long. "Yeah, I don't give a shit what she does, though. He's too old for her anyway, and she really didn't treat him all that great."
Jervis pauses, and looks out at the sky for a moment. "You--give of a lot of animosity, when you say that. Did something happen between you two, too?"
Dizzy shakes her head, "Not really, it just sort of ticked me off. He was so nice to her, brought her flowers and everything. I wish a guy could have treated _me_ that nice. And what does she do? Kicks him to the curb. I had had to almost physically restrain him to keep him from running back to Portland."
Jervis snorts. "Flowers. Never really understood that trope."
Dizzy looks quizzically at Jervis, "Trope?" She shrugs, "Girls actually like it when guys pay attention to them, you know."
Jervis exhales smokily. "This I know. Call me modern to a fault, I've just never found it--necessary."
"And that's the problem," Dizzy says, motioning towards him with her ciggarette. "You'd be surprised how far a little politeness could go."
Jervis giggles a little. "I'm not like Jeremy. Don't take me as some virginal nerd who's angry at the world for never giving him a piece of ass. Nothing could be further from the truth. You're the one who seems to have difficulty being polite around females."
"Hey," Dizzy shoot back, angry, freeing her mouth quickly. "Kit fucking threatened me with a knife. She so fucking egotistical too." She pops the cig back in her mouth. "She's the one with the problem."
Jervis says "And Alicia?"
Jervis has a faint grin in his face.
"Alicia and I are cool now," she says, nodding as if that proved what she said was true. Dizzy looks up in the sky. "Can I ask you sort of a personal question?"
Jervis takes a drag. "Of course."
Dizzy looks over Jervis for a second, "How'd you find out? You know, that you are a garou?"
Jervis gives a half-hearted chuckle, more for effect than anything. "My Dad got wind of my wolfishness beforehand, sent me here on a bus. I was totally clueless. Got off at the wrong stop. The second-worst migraine I've ever had in my life starts up. Bad section of town, and there _I_ am, looking like a fresh piece of meat. Guy comes up, starts hassling me. One thing led to another, and--John and Kaz intervened." He pauses. "More specifically, John just about caved the back of my skull in."
Jervis adds. "Which, would have been a mercy at that point, given my state."
Dizzy nods along, listening to it all. When he's done she takes a short drag, then shakes her head, letting the smoke out slowly. "God. I don't even think I was supposed to change. On one hand, I'm thankful for what Jer did, but on the other hand..." She pauses for a second, "On the other hand, I sort of wish he hadn't. I feel as if I actually had gotten a choice, but then had it made for me before I knew about the choice."
Jervis smirks, almost impish. "Have you stopped thinking of yourself as human yet?"
Dizzy starts to answer, but the ringing from her pocket interrupts her. She shakes her head as she pulls out her cellphone, presses a button on it, then holds her ciggarette in one hand as she holds the phone with the other. "Hello?" she asks into it.
Jervis snorts, and finishes his cigarette, tossing it aside.
Jeremy says, "Um.. well. I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight.."
Dizzy shifts her weight as she listens to whoever's on the other end of the line. "Yeah. What's up Jer?" she asks. Well, that answers that question. "Sure, I guess. I'm at the farmhouse right now."
Jervis stifles a snort, now. He folds his arms and leans against the farmhouse wall.
".. The Farmhouse?" he curiously asks. "I never heard of that.."
Dizzy blinks, realizing she may have accidentally made a mistake, "Oh, it's a place for cubs to stay. In the woods, you know." She takes one last drag on the cig before tossing on the ground and pulverizing it with the bottom edge of the toe of her shoe. "So, where do you have in mind?"
Jeremy says, "I dunno.. I was thinking maybe you could.. um.. come over here? Watch some movies.. um.. popcorn.. stuff.."
Jervis makes what is, by any judgement, a _good_ attempt to not eavesdrop. Or at least, not to appear that way. The woods have captured his attention now, expressions gone from his face.
Dizzy turns her back to Jervis and whispers into the phone, "Over to Roger's? Is he going to be home?" She nods at the answer and looks back over to the other cub. "Okay, I'll be over as soon as I'm through here. Okay?"
Jeremy says, "Nah, I don't think so, I haven't seen him all day."
Jeremy says, "Ok!" He sounds excited.
Jervis casually turns back from his attempt at not eavesdropping, and just smiles at Dizzy, almost admiringly so, and shakes his head.
Dizzy smiles at whatever response she got, "Okay. I'll see you then. G'bye." She hangs up the phone and sticks it back in her pocket. "Sorry about that," she apologizes to Jervis. "And to answer your question, I'm half human, half werewolf. That's how I feel."
Corey slides the door closed behind him, and immediately makes his way toward his cubmate upon seeing her. "Hey, Diz! Been having fun?"
Jervis doesn't pay the other Walker any mind, he just says it: "You're screwing him, aren't you? Sophia--" He stops, but still's positively ecstatic, it seems.
Kit exits from the back of the farmhouse Salami in one hand, coke in the other. She has a happy grin on her face as she heads for the crowd behind Corey.
Dizzy balks at the blatant language. "I am _not_ screwing him," she harshy says in a loud whisper to Jervis. "Hey Core," she offers to her fellow Walker cub.
Jervis shrugs loudly, sinnocently. Women.
Corey stops and stares at the two as he gets wind of the conversation, unaware of Kit following him. "I'm sorry, maybe I should go back and try this whole 'rejoining the tribemate' thing again." He doesn't move to return to the house, though. "Whatever. I'm not involved, I will not /get/ involved..." It's almost a mantra.
Kit shakes her soda idlely, listening to the conversation. "What're we talking about," she asks curiously as she approaches Dizzy and Jervis.
Jervis blinks, answering. "Local wildlife."
"You ready to go home now, Core?" Dizzy asks, giving Jervis the dick eye.
Kit sticks her tounge out at Jervis. "Don't try lying to a philodox hun. What're we seriously talking about," she asks as she taps her foot impatiently.
Corey nods. "Sure. It's getting late, and we don't need a repeat of the last time we were out late."
Jervis shrugs. "Lie? No. I mean, Dizzy's local, Jeremy's--wild, apparently. They're both _alive_. Works doesn't it?" Biggest shit-eating grin _ever_.
Kit frowns intently and suddenly a claw appears on her right index finger which pierces the can she's been shaking sending soda spraying right into Dizzy's face. Kit gives the cans a few more shakes for good measure, sending more soda streaming out. "Stay out of his life huh," she says angrily.
Dizzy narrows her eyes, glaring at Jervis, "You'd better watch what you say around this ragabash," she warns him, "Becau..." Bam! She gets sprayed by Kit's soda. "Bitch!" She cries out.
Jervis grimaces. "Oh now that's just _rude_." he says, sarcasm evident, bubbling up, in fact.
Corey backs out of the way, surprised. "What the hell?" He takes one good look at Dizzy, and covers his eyes with his hand, propping the elbow in his other hand. "Shit."
Kit growls angrily as she gives the soda a couple more vigorous shakes, but it's run out of steam and the trail drop down to a dribble. "He's messed up already," she continues in her angry rant with barred teeth.
Dizzy yells in rage and take off her hat. She ponders many stupid things, before turning heel and walking back towards the back door. If that bitch wasn't a stupid cliath and they were just two normal girls there would be a reckonning. For now, she makes a mental note. For Jervis, something small. For Kit, well, that'll take some planning.
Jervis shrugs, lighting up another cigarette. Women.
Corey shakes his head and walks off as well. He takes a path around the house to the car, though. Looks like the Walkers have worn out their welcome.
Kit snarls at Dizzy's back, expecting more of a reaction. Maybe a fight. The walkers wouldn't appreciate that, but oh well. "Later," she says through her teeth.
Jervis looks to Kit. "I don't even want to know."
Dizzy grabs Corey by the arm and storms off with the poor boy in tow. Damn straight, later it will be.