10/01/2006
Rainbow Lake(#2713RJ)
Long and narrow, the lake stretches a mile to the north and south, right at the heart of the woodland. Tall, silver beech trunks mix with the even taller evergreens and dominate the mountain valley. Where the canopy has been broken by a fallen tree, a riot of brambles and nettles have erupted, clinging to anything and everything and fighting for light among the thick forest. Underfoot there is a deep bed of mulch and last year's leaves, muffling any footfall.
Other plants have found a foothold where the beeches make way for the line of water. The edges of the lake are overhung by a wall of dark myrtle, their scent hanging sweet and heavy in the air, giving the place a dreamlike quality. The waters of the lake itself are a clear, unruffled indigo, dropping into bottomless darkness, with otherworldly reflections of the sky floating above the depths. Rainbow flashes of light play about the reeds and weeds that break the surface here and there, throwing colors into the air.
Part of the valley around the lakeside to the south is clear of trees, and often here in the brush and grass a small herd of three woods buffalo can be seen.
Jacinta pages: Yesterday can be the letter, and Jacinta would have had you explore the surroundings a little bit, and, while she was running the letter to the farmhouse for someone to mail, she'd have asked you to practice what you knew about the Tribes. I'll +mail a bit more that she would have told you about the 'bad' tribes.
Jacinta pages: Is there anything else that Veronica would have immediately asked, yesterday, that you want to take care of in pages, before we start?
You paged Jacinta with 'I think, given all of that information, Veronica would have been pretty spun around. She'd have spent a lot of time on the letter, then gone exploring along the places that weren't too difficult to traverse. Has she seen any glyphs around the Longhouse or the lake?'.
Jacinta pages: No. I don't think so. There aren't any in the descs, that I recall.
You paged Jacinta with 'Then she's been practising her 'tribe lore', and her new words, wandering the lakeside, and occasionally messing around with her iPod.'.
From afar, Jacinta would have checked the letter, on the way to the farmhouse.
You paged Jacinta with 'As promised, no information that gives away what or where she is. She doesn't even mention the wilderness, just that she's safe and happy, and that when she can explain, she will.'.
Jacinta pages: Excellent. Okay. I'm gonna grab set, then, and I promise not to grill Veronica on Tribe stuff until I've +mailed the rest.
You paged Jacinta with 'Hurray! :)'.
Most of the day has been somewhat dry, though the clouds have been present, as ever in the winter of the valley. Jacinta has taken Veronica on a tour of the area around the lake and up to Two Eagle's Bluff, and explained the idea of Tribal Territory. She's introduced the bison, and talked about the Tribe's duty to protect them, as well as her personal connection to the Bison Totem of her pack. When the rain began, the Fostern led the way back to the area by the longhouse, sheltered somewhat by the trees. Though the air remains heavy with dampness, where they sit is protected and the two are mostly dry. Having just finished her evening ritual of caring for her weapons, Jacinta offers the girl a snack she retrieved from the larder. "What questions do you have, of what you have learned today?"
Veronica accepts the snack eagerly, but eats with something approaching manners. "Totems. Are they the only spirits, or are there smaller spirits too? And are ancestors real? Everything I read on the internet talks about ancestors being really important to us." She's adopted her 'learning' posture, one arm wrapped around her knees to keep herself warm, the other poking food into her mouth.
Jacinta nods slowly. "Ii. Ancestors are real. They are one of the types of spirits in the world. All things have spirits." She picks up a small rock, holding it out to illustrate. "This rock has a spirit, though it may not be awakened. In the spirit world, all things that Grandmother remembers are reflected. We are creatures of flesh and of spirit. When you have learned more, I will take you to the spirit world, and you will see."
Veronica says, "Spirits have a whole world?" She stares out of their shelter, mulling that over in her mind as she chews. "So is that why sometimes you get a spooky feeling, like something walked past you, or is looking at you? I get that sometimes. And how are we half spirit and half human and half wolf, too? Isn't that too many halves?" She scratches along the neck of her shirt, trying to work out the answers for herself, even as she asks the questions."
Jacinta's eyes narrow in thought and waits several seconds in silence. "I have not been inside your mind, to know what it is you felt. But it is possible that you are sensitive to the yua." She pulls a stray hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "We are not half human and half wolf. We are all Garou. Wolf-changer. It is not the same. All the forms are part of what we are, part of our whole."
Veronica watches the elder intently. New words and all. "How do you change? I'm sorry if I'm not worthy to do it yet, or something. I just want to know. Fur would be really nice right now." She rubs her arm. "Not that I don't like it out here. It's just cold, and I want to see what color I am. Or are all Wendigos white like you, elder?"
Jacinta looks down at her arm for a moment, then back to the girl. "Not all are white furred. My ancestors include wolves of the Tundra and the Arctic, and so that is what you see in my coat. Some Wendigo bear the coats of the timber wolves of the north, big and grey, with shades of black. Some, the wolves of the northwest, or east, with more brown and tan. Some even show herritage of the southwest, and may have russet in their coat." Then, leaning forward with her hands on her thighs she says, "I will teach you the laws, first, and if you learn them well, we will see if you can feel your wolf as your moon rises high, tonight."
Veronica perks up, her chin popping up off of her knees. "I was going to ask about those," she says, a plaintive tone coming into her voice. "I meant to. I'm sorry." She licks her lips and pushes hair out of her face. "I'll stop talking."
"You are a cub," Jacinta says plainly. "It is expected that you will ask questions. If you did not, I would not know your thoughts."
"Okay. So...what are the laws?" Veronica shifts her clothes around, trying to get warmer still. "Don't kill people, that kind of stuff?"
Clearing a bit of the sandy soil between them, Jacinta reaches for a bit of twig. She tips her head, looking at Veronica out of the corner of her eye. "Not without need, no. But that is not one of our laws, it is just," she pauses, head turning back to face the cub. "Good sense." Then she looks down, at the space she has cleared and begins to draw. She draws two identical glyphs next to each other, a line drawn connecting the two. "Garou," she says pointing at the first, "shall not mate with Garou." She lifts the stick from the first glyph to touch the second, and then crosses the line between several times, separating the two. "This is Grandmother's first law."
Immediately, the cub goes searching for a stick. When she finds one that will make a good writing tool, she copies the glyphs and the way they were written. "Okay." She practises the motions a few more times, then her brow furrows and she cocks her head at Jacinta. "Um. Why? If we're not human and we're not wolves, we're not their species, so isn't that kind of...disgusting?"
"Sky Woman was one of Grandmother's human children, and she took a wolf for her husband. We are all children of human and wolf, and can take either as our mate." She looks down at the glyphs that the cub has made and nods, then wipes the space clear once more. This time she draws the glyph for metis. "You remember when I told you that you are homid because you were born of a human parent? And that some of our people are born of a wolf?"
Circles's form pads into view, head held high and tail straight out behind him. There is a hand sized patch of red on the wolf's grey pelt, faded and nearly gone.
Veronica mouths 'Sky Woman', then nods. Her hand copies the glyph, and she looks at the scratches expectantly. "There are Garou born from Garou and Garou?" she says, poking her glyph as though it's about to give the answer, rather than Jacinta.
"Yes," Jacinta answers, pointing at her own glyph with a bit of a frown. Her gaze lifts, noting Circles' presence, but she doesn't acknowledge him, yet. "They are cursed. Because their parents broke this law, they are born less than whole. Some are so deformed they cannot even survive the night of their birth. Others are cursed in other ways. None can ever bear children to serve Grandmother's further need. Grandmother tells us of her disappointment in this way." She looks down at the furrows in the dirt, teeth setting. "Some are able to rise beyond their birth. They know that Grandmother despises their parents, and they feel her anger at their birth, yet they persevere and live to serve her. Those are worthy of respect. But if you meet one, make it prove itself to you." At this last line her eyes bore into the cub. When she stops speaking, she glances again toward Circles waving him closer.
In response to the Cliath's beckoning, Circles comes closer. Nose twitching madly as he focuses on Veronica.
Veronica says, "Prove that it's worthy?" Not entirely oblivious, she spots the wolf. In her surprise, she plants her hand on the glyph, leaning away from the lupus. Her eyes find Jacinta, and she immediately tries to look a little less freaked. "Is that a Wendigo too?"
Nearly six feet in length from nose to bushy tail-tip, Walks-In-Circles is a healthy grey wolf in it's prime. He stands roughly thirty inches tall at the shoulder and a heavy coat of grey and white fur covers the Wendigo's wiry frame. A dark grey mask starts at the tip of the wolf's nose, runs under the eyes and along the upper jawline. At the neck, the grey fur stretches across Circles' back and forms a classic 'saddle' pattern. The wolf's bushy tail is totally grey, aside from the very tip, which is white. Lighter Grey fur covers Circles lower jaw and the underside of his body, while his paws are completely white.
"Ii," Jacinta answers, her gaze still on Circles. "He is. He is cub, like you, but born of wolf. Walks in Circles, he is called. When he comes close, let him test your scent." Raising her voice, more obviously speaking to the lupus she says, "This is Veronica, a new cub. Take homid and join the teaching."
The ear closest to Jacinta swivels in her direction as she speaks, but all of
Circles attention is focused on the new cub. He sniffs at her face, then his head lowers as he inspects every bit of clothing with his nose.
Veronica freezes, her eyes getting wider and wider as the cub wolf inspects her. "Hi Walks in Circles," she says in a raspy whisper. Her nails scratch at the dirt and she bites her lip. "I'm Veronica." She smells of fear, underneath a mingling of a light, fruity store bought perfume and sweat.
Jacinta watches the interaction, her features growing tight. "Take homid form, Wadiskay. She does not yet know the lupus, and you need the practice."
Circles takes one last sniff of Veronica's face, then snorts softly and takes several steps backward. The wolf goes through a change them, fur receding and replaced by leather clothing as he turns into a young man. "Hello," he greets, voice rough from a lack of practice as he shoved a hand in Veronica's direction awkwardly.
Veronica blinks at the hand coming right for her and flinches away from it. When Circles doesn't claw her, as expected, the girl gingerly takes his hand. She licks her lips and gives him a quick handshake. "Hi. Do you have another name than Circles? Like...a human kind of name? Or is it just Circles?"
Wadiskay is a young man in his early to mid twenties, his appearance is an indication that he is one of the 'first people'. His face is handsome in a way, with high cheekbones, a sharp nose, tan skin and brown eyes. Midnight-black hair reaches down to Wadiskay's shoulders and his clothing is made out of deerskin in the traditional style of the Lipan Apache. The young man moves with a certain amount of grace and awkwardness at the same time, brown eyes darting this way and that, nose continually trying to sniff at the air. Something about this young native man just seems off, wrong, and simply unnerving.
Jacinta says "He is Wadiskay, Walks in Circles, as I am Jacinta, Pierces the Ice. You will have a cub name, too, and when you have passed your rite of passage, you will have earned your deed name. Your deed name may change, if you perform great deeds, or if you make great mistakes." She looks then at Circles again and says, "She has just learned the first law. Tell her the second."
Wadiskay looks extremely frustrated for nearly a minute, mouthing some of Jacinta's words as he puzzles through them. "Law," he finally states, firmly. "Hunt Wyrm."
Veronica frowns and tries to fit that with what she's learned so far. "We go out and find Horned Serpent things and hunt them? All of us, or just the warriors and the shamans?" She tucks her knees back up to her chest again, and both arms wrap around them. Her nose comes to rest on top of her knees, and she tries to puzzle this through.
Jacinta seems pleased by Veronica's interpretation. "Ii. The law says, Fight the Horned Serpent wherever it dwells, and wherever it breeds. It is for all of us. Remember, in the story of our beginning. What Wendigo asked, all that would check his rage? We wear that Warrior's promise. That is our purpose." She looks at Circles with slightly narrowed eyes, watching for signs of understanding. Then she looks back to Veronica, in case she has more questions.
Wadiskay's look is a little blank. There are sparks of understanding as he picks out words that he knows, but he is clearly having trouble following the conversation.
Veronica says, "How do we do that? I think I know how warriors and shamans do, but Talesingers don't fight, do they?" The teenager is looking nervous now, her eyes going wide. "We don't have to do that until after our Rite of Passage, right? I won't even be able to tell what's Horned Serpent and what isn't."
Jacinta smiles blandly. "You will learn to fight." She lets her gaze fall on Circles. "Ii? Learn to fight?" She seems to be checking his understanding of her words. Then she goes on, still watching him for a bit, but turning back to Veronica as she finishes. "You will learn to fight, and you will learn about the Horned Serpent, the Wyrm. A Talesinger is almost as good at fighting as the Warrior moon."
Wadiskay seems to understand some of what is being said, as he abruptly blurts out, "all fight Wyrm."
"I've never even seen a real fight before," Veronica says, her voice muffled by her knees. "It's the Law that I have to learn?" Her fingers fiddle with the fabric of her pants. Wadiskay's outburst earns a squeak. "Everyone? Oh."
Jacinta nods. "Everyone. And, yes. Tonight it is the law that you need to learn." She sighs, looking up at the moon. "There are more, but tonight is the first night of your moon. Let us see if you can feel the wolf inside." Eyes bright, she turns back to Veronica. "You saw me, when I was wolf, and you have seen Walks in Circles. I want you to close your eyes and reach deep inside. Imagine those places we have seen today, but from the perspective of a wolf. Feel the heart beating within you. Feel your paws in the mud."
Veronica looks at their surroundings, then dutifully sets her stick aside. She looks at her hands, then the elder, and lastly the other cub. Then she digs her fingers into the soil and pushes her legs out behind her, ending up on her hands and knees. She closes her eyes, grits her teeth...and nothing happens. "What does being a wolf feel like?"
Jacinta stifles a laugh and nods slowly, repetitively. "Relax. Do not try to force it." Her voice is smooth, soft, calm. "In your mind, picture the wolf. Then imagine it is you. Imagine sensing the world through scent, through sound. Feel the beat of the wolf's heart within you. Feel the urge to run, to howl."
Veronica's eyes stay firmly shut. "Howling. Okay." She takes a few deep breaths through her nose, trying to do exactly as Jacinta says. She hunches her back, draws her feet in closer. Her fingers hook into claws in the dirt. When that still doesn't feel right, she shakes out her hair, letting it fall around her face. She makes a guttural sort of whine and shuffles back and forth on all fours.
Wadiskay's mouth opens and his tongue pokes out, as he laughs silently in amusement.
Jacinta's voice drones on, explaining more and more of what it feels to be a wolf, reminding the girl to empty her mind, except of those things that are the wolf. The run. The hunt. The howl. Her glance at Wadiskay is accompanied by a jut of her head, a signal, should he be able to understand it, that he should now shift to his birth form.
Thank god the Wendigo don't have video cameras. Veronica tries another howl, which comes out as more of a yell. Her frustration builds quickly as she tries digging at the earth with her hands, and more awkward shuffling to and fro. With a much more feral growl, she rakes the soil. "Why can't I do it," she half-snarls, half-whines.
Jacinta's gaze toward Wadiskay becomes a glare when he does not respond at all to her gesture. She turns her attention back to Veronica and says, "It is often difficult at first. It is a thing you will learn. Again. Try again." And again, the Fostern drones about senses and howls, about hunts and freedom.
The irritation of her inability to do what is asked pushes Veronica over the edge. Her complaining turns into a growl as she finally manages to force the change. She doesn't stay in crinos very long, snarling her way through and onwards to lupus. On finding herself on four legs, the female cub promptly loses her balance and plops into an awkward sitting position. Her brown eyes go huge, her ears flick back and forth and her tail wags uncertainly.
Wadiskay blinks once, then cringes under Jacinta's gaze, chin uplifted submissively.
Jacinta's attentive watching becomes a Whoop! of excitement. "Assirtuq!" she shouts, leaning forward and shifting smoothly into lupus herself. You have done it! Her tail is raised, ears forward, and her jaw hangs open with obvious pleasure. The new cub may not understand all of her body language, yet, but the gist of happiness is clear.
Veronica's ears flick back with surprise when the elder shifts to lupus. Her tail thumps a few more times, and she blinks, turning her head carefully to look from the other cub to the elder. Her expression is sheepish happiness as she tries to find her balance. Her paws splay wide, and she makes a soft whuffling noise.
Now that the others have shifted, Circle returns to his birth form. He seems pleased with the new cub as well, tail wagging slowly behind him.
Jacinta turns from her pleased behavior toward Veronica to a very dominant stance toward Circles. Take two-legs. Stay two-legs tonight. Use two-leg words. Help her learn four legs.
Veronica licks her chops, looking around and taking a few tentative sniffs at the new-smelling air. Her ears cup and press back against her head as she catches new sounds and scents. Her tail continues to wave as she starts to test out her new senses.
Circles cringes, tail tucking firmly between his legs. He whines softly and there is the faint scent of urine to those with lupine noses, before he complies and shifts back into Homid. He remains cringing, one all fours, and pointedly not looking at Jacinta.
Jacinta huffs, satisfied, and returns her attention to the new-formed wolf. She approaches Veronica and places her chin above the other's nose, her first lesson in dominance a mild one. Then she backs off a step and explains. Now stay four legs. Walks in Circles will help. Her head sways, gesturing out over the lake. Can go all places you saw. Go no farther. She turns one more time to Circles. Stay two leg. Help her. Protect her. Only change if danger needs. Understand?
Veronica twitches downwards when the elder shows her dominance. What very little she understands of the wolf-form Fostern's words are acknowledged by a weakly wagging tail.
Wadiskay seems terribly uncomfortable, fingers digging into the soil. "Long?"
Until I return, the white wolf suggests. Then she turns a small circle, leaving her several feet further off. Now I hunt, protect Grandmother's Heart.
Veronica, still a little exciteable, makes a sound that hits the middle ground between a bark and a howl to say goodbye to Jacinta. She pushes herself to all fours, and her tail thumps from side to side.
Wadiskay sits down in his rear and looks unhappy, but he doesn't complain.
Veronica watches the direction that the elder went as well, her ears swivelling and cocking as she tries to figure out the best way to proceed. Turning to look at the other cub, she tries to bring her legs in closer without tipping, and finds it's easier than it looks. She makes a "Hrrmph?" noise, then blinks.
Wadiskay sighs, cheeks puffing out as he continues to stare into the woods. Finally, he looks away and starts to stand. "Nose," the lupus-born suggests.
The wolf-form cub sniffs delicately at the air around her, and her eyes narrow at the unfamiliar rush of sensory input. "Hrrmph?" she 'asks' again, looking at the ground to judge the distance before poking her nose at it and having another sniff.
Slightly unsteady on two legs, Wadiskay sniffs at the air, then snorts in disgust. Turning his back on the new cub, he makes his way toward the longhouse.
Veronica's ears flick towards the other cub and she whines. Still unable to say, well, anything in this form, she licks her chops again, drops her ears and starts following him. Her pace is very slow as she tries to coordinate all four limbs to work in the right order.
Eventually, Veronica pads into the longhouse, her tail still waving a bit. Her tail drops as she's assailed with this new panorama of smells, and she whines what could be a question to the male.
"Nose. Food." Wadiskay grunts, as he walks through the longhouse. He knows there is some dried meat in here somewhere, but he doesn't have the use of his nose to find it.
Veronica's ears prick, and she takes a few short breaths, whining as she tries to sort through the things she smells. Her claws click on a few spare boards as she walks towards the places she's seen Jacinta get food from before. She pokes her nose into each place, looking for something in particular. "Uff!" she barks, her tail wagging twice when she locates the dried salmon. "Hrrf. Uff."
Wadiskay's head cocks to one side, then he walks over to where the new cub is standing and begins to look around. Deft homid hands eventually finding the dried salmon and bringing it out into the open. "Food."
Veronica's nose plunges towards the container, her tail wagging. She rumbles, pads in a circle and trips over her paws, barely keeping herself from banging her wolf nose on the floor. Wadiskay is fixed with big, pleading eyes as the female cub tries out a reedy whine.
Wadiskay picks up several strips of dried salmon and tosses on strip in Veronica's direction. Sitting down awkwardly and with a grunt, the Wendigo chews away at his meal.
Veronica tries to catch the salmon and misses. She follows her nose to the landing spot and tries to take a small bite of the meat. She pins the strip down with her paw and starts pulling off small chunks, eating as she would were she in her birth form.
Wadiskay has no such human manners, cramming a large amount of food into his mouth and chewing noisily.
Veronica watches the other cub eat and snorts, making a point of eating her salmon even more delicately than before. Her tail sets itself mid-height, ever so primly.
Wadiskay stops eating very suddenly, dropping his food to the floor and emitting a rather vicious sounding snarl at the other cub.
Veronica's ears flatten against her skull as her whole body suddenly vibrates with tension. She bares her teeth in alarm.
Wadiskay continues to growl, the vibration low and warning as he meets the wolf's eyes and glares at her.
Veronica's eyes lock with the male's, and she starts lowering herself to the ground. A growl rumbles out of her throat in response to Wadiskay's, and her chest starts to expand and contract rapidly.
Wadiskay stands up to his full height, chest expanding as he puffs himself up. He does not back down, as the staring contest continues.
Veronica blinks, but still doesn't back down. When she's crouching, her tail drops and starts to tuck between her legs. She still shows white teeth to the other cub.
Wadiskay lunges at the other cub, but stops well short of making actual contact. His teeth are bared and would look far more frightening, if he was in his birth form.
Veronica drops the rest of the way to the floor with a thump and starts pushing herself backwards, still not losing eye contact. A whine threads into her growl.
Another lunge and Wadiskay comes closer this time. Close enough that Veronica could take a bite out of him if she wanted too.
Veronica holds her ground this time, her tail tucked firmly. When he gets too close, the female cub gives a warning snap of her teeth.
"Wadiskay higher," the Theurge manages between clenched teeth. "Submit."
Teeth still bared, Veronica slowly quiets her growl. Her body bobs uncertainly, and her ears prick shortly, then lay flat again.
Wadiskay snorts, clearly struggling to remain patient. "Throat."
Veronica shuffles backwards a few inches, whining a question to him. Her lips drop a bit over her fangs, but keep twitching back up.
"Show throat!" Wadiskay snaps, pressing forward.
Veronica scrambles back again, finally figuring out what he wants. When her front paws slip on the floor, she lets them go, tumbling onto her side and stretching out her neck while simultaneously trying to curl her forelegs around her vital organs.
It is like night and day, as Wadiskay completely relaxes and looses all signs of aggression. He goes back to his food, picking it up off the floor and continuing with his meal.
Veronica stays where she is until Wadiskay is sitting down, eating and obviously not looking at her in any way. Then the human-born cub slowly rolls onto her feet and slinks, belly-down, a few feet back towards her piece of salmon. The other cub gets a look as a thought occurs, and she stops moving.
(And then, Veronica ran off into the woods and hid for awhile, because Circles is scary.)
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