Currently the moon is in the waxing Crescent Moon phase (22% full).
Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly cloudy. The temperature is 53 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius). The wind is calm today. The barometric pressure reading is 29.99 and rising, and the relative humidity is 83 percent. The dewpoint is 48 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius.)
It is currently 22:44 Pacific Time on Thu Sep 20 2001.
Walker Safe House(#2832RAJL)
This small tenement building is a work that any interior decorator would be proud of. The building is somehow filled with light and space, despite the fact that the room is far from large. Mirrored surfaces and lush green potted plants are much in evidence - jarring only slightly with the video cameras that perch unobtrusively in various locations. A small sign on the wall lists the number of apartments upstairs as eight, though there are no names next to the apartment numbers. A very thick door leads downstairs, with no visible method of being opened - except a keypad next to it. A monitor is perched above the entrance, showing images from the hidden camera that watches the outside of the building.
The lobby branches off into what appears to be a small recreation room; for use only by residents and their guests. Much like the rest of the building, mirrors are prominent. There is a pool table set up in one half of the room, along with a small fridge for storing drinks and a cabinet for snackables. The remainder is dominated by a large home theater system, with an incredibly expensive-looking couch in front of it. The couch nearly screams out, 'Don't spill anything'. For those who might, there are also two matching side-chairs, and a bean-bag on the floor - far too close to the television to be good for anyone's eyes.
In the rec room, Dizzy is sitting on the floor, doing some streaching exercises while the TV broadcasts the news. She's dressed in black sports pants and a light grey sweater jacket over a basketball jersey. The ragabash cub seems to be pretty limber as she reaches her hand out past her foot.
Sophia tiptoes down the stairs, carrying a book. She peeks into the rec room, and stops upon seeing the news playing. She shies away from it instinctually and hangs back. "Oh. I uh... sorry," she says, turning away.
Dizzy looks up at her roommate and motions her in, "Hey there." She sits up and brings her legs in to sit crosslegged. "What's up?"
Francisco opens the front door and lopes in, dark circles under his eyes. Crossing into the rec room, he offers the cubs half an exhausted grin. "Ladies."
Sophia gestures vaguely at the TV and disgustedly shakes her head, as if the words escape her. She does enter the rec room, but sits so that she's not facing the screen. To Francisco, she just nods.
"Hello," Dizzy greets the cliath, nodding in his general direction. She turns her head to Sophia, "Want me to turn it off? It was just something to like, listen to while I was exercising."
Francisco lowers himself onto the couch in a fashion which suggests a collapsible ruler folding up, and nods to Dizzy. "Turn it off, Diz, please?" he asks, with a grimace. "I've had enough of it for a while."
Sophia nods gratefully at Dizzy. "Thank you. I appreciate it... I can only take so much horror in one week."
Dizzy holds out her arms and forces herself up by leg power alone. She walks over to where the remote sits on the couch and turns off the television.
Francisco sighs, "Thanks, m'dear," and leans back on the couch, closing his eyes. "How are you two?"
Sophia shrugs and offers Fransisco a little smile. "Alright. Boredom punctuated by atrocity... almost like being normal, these days."
Dizzy tosses the remote back onto the couch and goes back to sitting on the floor. "I've been starting to work out again," she says, with a shrug, "Actually feels like I'm in some sort of training, now."
The electronic buzz of someone swiping the door sounds, and then John's nudging it open with one shoulder. The other arm's wrapped around the slightly slumped form of Rina - tangled close, and looking a little dazed. Both Ahroun and Kin look rumpled, at the least. Rina's steps aren't as sure as John's, as they move inside.
Francisco opens his eyes at the buzz, and sits up with a frown at the entrance of John and Rina. He gets to his feet. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Rina's dark eyes are unfocused, downcast, and without the support of the man beside her she looks as if she might pass out. The olive skin has a pallor beneath it, and there is something strange about the woman's expression.
Sophia tilts her head and frowns at John with a mixture of curiosity and concern. She starts to push herself up from the ground and leans toward the pair without moving.
Dizzy just leans back, placing her hands behind her to support herself. She watches the Kin and Ahroun silently with mild curiosity.
John looks up at the concerned Tribesmates, slightly flushed and weary. "Hmmm? Oh. Nothing. We just went out down the road - the Temple. Danced. You know." he rumbles hoarsely. Then clears his throat, propping Rina up a little more. "Just too much to drink, and shit."
Francisco's eyebrows go up--quick flash of light off the bars in the left--and he grins slowly and sits back down. "Well. At least someone's having fun."
The light and metal catche Rina's eyes, and she looks across to him, brows furrowing slightly as her eyes focus. There is something... tense, in her expression. Something fey about her eyes.
Sophia scowls with evident disapproval and sits down silently.
Francisco gazes back at Rina for a moment, his expression fading into concern, then glances at John, questioningly.
"Sorry, but you look like shit. Positively, smashed." Dizzy says with a grin. She adds as an aside to her roommate, "Maybe I should take you out drinking sometime."
John hitches one shoulder in a dismissive shrug to Francisco, and then the Ahroun turns Rina about to him. "Hey. We're home." he murmurs, quietly, then looks to the others. "So. What's up?" Forcibly neutral.
Rina swallows, and looks up at him for a moment; then she lowers her dark eyes to the floor.
Dizzy's comment rolls off Sophia's back like water from a windshield. Sophia is much more concerned with Rina at this point, watching her face carefully and staring impertinently. Unable to gain any explanation from it, she turns her face pointedly to John and raises her eyebrows.
"Come on, it'll be fun," the new moon cub chides, intentionally trying to invoke a response from Sophia. "Probably wouldn't take long to get you plastered."
Francisco tilts his head, not quite a nod, and replies, "Me, sadly, but I'm about to solve that." He leans his head back and closes his eyes again, folding his arms across his chest comfortably.
John tilts his head looking at Sophia, waiting for her to ask some question, or explain herself. He breaks that, to prop Rina up a little, and murmur something softly into her ear.
Sophia glances at Dizzy without turning her face from John and blinks as if trying to rid herself of a piece of dust. Her eyes return to John. "Alcohol is an unnecessary danger," she tells him. "Shouldn't she sit?"
"I'm aright," Rina says hoarsely. The dark eyes shift to Sophia, that gaze somehow fey as it focuses on her. The young woman wets her lips slowly and looks sidelong at John. "Not drunk. Not alcohol. Maybe I should go..."
"Danger to who?" Dizzy asks, "Maybe to the Wyrm. Wouldn't want to mess with some angry drunk Garou. Rar." She laughs, pawing at the air with one hand. "If we're not going to live to thirty, might as well have fun while we're still alive."
John inclines his head towards Dizzy, in agreement, but looks towards Rina with a hint of concern. "...get you some ice or something. You need some sleep." he murmurs.
Sophia frowns intensely, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Dru..." she stops herself short and breathes deeply.
Rina's eyes unfocus a little, and she nods, looking at nothing in particular.
"You both look like you could use some rest," Dizzy observes, sounding not too concerned. "Sleep it off, deal with the hangover in the morning."
Rina's brow furrows, and she looks over to Dizzy with those fey eyes. "I'm not drunk," she says hoarsely.
John shakes his head a little, clearly exhausted. "Yeah. We know, Rina, we know. It's okay." He tips her head up a little, with his hand under her chin. "Shh. Bedtime."
Sophia crosses her legs, crosses her arms, and leans back. Her jawline pulses as she grits her teeth, but her eyes betray no ill-ease.
Rina lowers her gaze from John's, the dark eyes still a little wild. "Yeah," she whispers, her expression intent but focused on empty air.
"Okay, okay. You're not drunk." Dizzy sits up stright, holding her hands out in mock defense from the kin.
John keeps just shaking his head minutely, and starts to manouever Rina upstairs. Giving gentle noises of encouragement, and being careful not to support her by much more than her arms or waist.
Sophia squints at the two, almost glaring. She glances at Dizzy and smirks grimly, shaking her head and shrugging defeatedly.
Rina walks at his urging, her movements unsteady but compliant.
"So, did I tell you," Dizzy says, turning back to her roommate and shifting her body to face her, "But I'm getting martial arts training from this Bone Gnawer, Song Yi. She's like totally kick ass."
Sophia raises her eyebrows and shakes her head slightly, trying to focus on the present. "Hmm," she says. "That's cool. Appropriate, too, for your auspice."
The ragabash cub nods, "Yeah, she's a new moon, like me, and really helping me to define myself in like, my auspice and all. Really cool. She's got a lot of scars though, and John seems to look up to her. Doesn't look that old, though."
Sophia smiles and uncrosses her legs. "Age is an obstacle for you, even now."
"You should see her," Dizzy says, defensively. "She's got scars like, all /over/ her body. I'd think it would take quite some time to rack up that many."
Sophia inhales, her smile deepening and taking over her eyes as she exhales. "Years don't cause scars."
"It takes time for things to happen though," Dizzy points out, "And it's pretty damn hard for a Garou to get a scar."
Sophia shrugs. "John lost his eye in a day. It's not /that/ uncommon."
"But he got it back, right? Not only do we heal hella fast, some of us can do healing magic." Dizzy shifts uncomfortably. Everytime she tries to talk to Sophia, the two usually end up arguing.
Sophia nods emphatically. "Sure, yeah. All I'm saying is, really bad shit can happen really fuckin' fast. You're right, it does take /some/ time. But with Gnawers... well. They do things different. I mean, their cubs are out in the world a lot sooner, from what I've seen."
Dizzy nods in agreement and leans back to lay on the floor, hands together behind her head.
Sophia sighs and lets her head fall forward. "There's just no /balance/, y'know? Things are either psychotic or deathly dull, and there's nothing in between."
Dizzy rolls her head slightly to look at her roommate. "I dunno, right now, I'm not falling into either of those groups. No glass banes in the alleys, and lots of training going on. Pretty balanced if you ask me."
Sophia smiles. "That's good. I envy you."
Sophia's roommate grins at her, "Just you wait. Your Rite of Passage is gonna come up and you'll be busy as all hell."
Sophia nods solemnly. "Right. Psychotic, like I said."
Dizzy laughs, "And then you'll be cliath and then what? Boredom again, I suppose you'd say, but think of it like a whole new world opening up. Expecially since you'll be able to do real magic then and all."
Sophia grins at Dizzy. "Yeah... it's not really the Gifts and Rites I'm looking forward to, though. The freedom to join the fight, to determine things for myself. And to tell people off when they get on my nerves. /That's/ what I'm looking forward to."
Dizzy nods at the theurge cub with a wry grin, "I'll make sure to stay away from you after you rite, then."
Sophia giggles, eyes squinted tight, and shakes her head. "I can tell you off now, silly. No. It's more like... John. And Roger. And stuff like that."
Dizzy laughs, fairly loud, at the image of John actually taking Sophia's backtalk. "Oh my god. John'll /love/ that."
Sophia cringes jokingly and nods. "Well. He probably won't. He /certainly/ doesn't like it now. But actually... he /does/ kinda put up with it. But then, I hafta be /really/ careful how I do it. The thing about John is, if you have a genuine beef with him, he'll sometimes listen, or more often he'll just leave. But if you say it in a smartass way, in a /Jonathan/ way, he's fairly likely to knock ya on your ass, y'know?"
Dizzy nods, still laughing. "I just picture, you walking around this place as a cliath, asking people to /kindly/ step out of your way."
Sophia laughs hard, shutting her eyes and rolling over her knees. "That's more Corey, I think."
Dizzy sits back up, her laughter calming down to just amusement. "Corey? Somehow, I don't see that. He's such a pushover."
Sophia shakes her head. "Naw. He's not a pushover. Not by nature. He just wants to be respectful. Once he comes of age, he'll be more... what's the word. Assertive."
Dizzy shrugs, "Hey, I suppose it could happen, though, I don't really see it myself. Jeremy is certanly being more assertive lately, though. He's even learning kick boxing."
Sophia's smile is ironic, but doesn't comment. She sighs and stands up, brushing herself off. "I'm heading to bed. I'll see you in the morning, Ok?"
"Sure," Dizzy says, getting up and heading to the small fridge, "Sleep well."