The GarouMUSH Log Page of Clemency Haynes

NOTE, please, that contrary to my usual custom I've allowed a number of pages and asides to remain in this log. I don't think they break continuity much, and... well, I wanted to keep them, OK.

Currently the moon is in the waning Full Moon phase (99% full).

Bawn: Northern Forest(#3012RA)
Dark and forboding woods stretch in all directions but the north, the trees close together as if they were soldiers closing ranks against the enemy of Man. The trees here are tall, and close off all light from above, like they were pillars in some vast cathedral to Nature. Songbirds flit between the branches and the snuffling of small animals comes from the brush if one listens close enough. The busy interstate highway to the north, though, drowns out most of the subtler sounds in that direction.
The northern edge of the bawn is marked here by the unavoidable length of Interstate 90. Near it, the sounds of traffic drown out the more natural sounds of water and wildlife. In all other directions, the traffic noise recedes into the background.

Pierces Ice looks no less ready for war. She's wearing a similar belt, knife sheathed at her side. In one hand she carries a longbow, in the other a spear, its head covered with cloth, and a nearly flat piece of arrow-shaped wood. Her breath comes in short bursts until she brings it under control. Coming to rest, she crouches down, placing her belongings to her side before clearing a small area of brush and dead leaves. She does not yet look at the others gathering.

Wildfire comes to the northern part of the bawn from the south. Blackriver is in the lead, with Dillen and Helen right behind. Both the followers are in homid and carrying weapons, Helen a nasty looking bow and Dillen a somewhat familiar razor wire. Blackriver flicks her ears in getting and recognition of the two Guardians, and pads over towards Cole, chuffing a soft greeting to her packmate and looking quite tense.

Walks-Middle arrives from the west, slinking through the trees toward the appointed meeting place. As she comes into view of her packmates, she shifts up into homid, offering them a faint nod before looking around to see who else has arrived, her entire posture tense and ready.

Cole turns in a slow circle to take in the arrivals of the various Garou. Each get a nod, some more reserved than others. He set his pack down, along with his axe. "Looks like everyone is coming loaded for bear. Or Spiral, as the case may be." When Wildfire arrives, he moves to intercept them. "Hi, guys."

Kaz leans against her tree, though this time standing up, and grins at Masao. "Dude."

Circle Keeper stops with his packmate, dropping the satchel and taking out two tightly tied bundles of cloth and setting them aside. Any number of people get an outright hostile reaction, the Uktena clearly not pleased as he puts the satchel back over his shoulder.

"Hell yeah." Dillen notes to Cole, lifting the razor wire 4X4 from his shoulder. "Brought Owen with me." He brandishes the weapon a bit with a grin.

"Hey," Helen says to Cole, looking a bit disoriented from the early hour but at the same time tense and ready to go.

Leaves-None angles towards Kaz as she sees her tribemate, tail wagging a bit as she nears. She seems eager for action as she butts her head against the Fostern's leg in greeting.

Havoc is represented by Laura and Fire-Burns, who arrive together. Both of Wolverine's daughters look focused on the task at hand, giving short nods of acknowledgement to those already present. Laura has a pack slung over her back and an unstrung bow in her hand. Her quiver, full of hand-fletched arrows, knocks and rattles at her hip. The hilt of a knife can just barely be seen protruding from one pocket of her pants. The wolf she walks with seems unencumbered by anything but Full Moon Wrath.

Blackriver shakes herself lightly and looks over her packmates, making sure they're all here and ready to go, before turning her gaze on the the others and eyeing them appraisingly. Unlike her packmate she seems quite functional in the early hour.

Morgan arrives a little late, though at a swift run, as if she already knew she was. She's trying to keep her coat closed as she goes, a losing battle, and in one hand, of all things, she's carrying a well worked steel knife. It looks functional at least. If she's got Touch Deer's knife to compliment that, it's hidden under the coat. Her face is flushed.

Ethan arrives not long after the Havoc contingency, coming up from the same direction. The ragabash has no weapons, other than himself. He finds Jacinta in the gathering force, but remains quiet and watchful as the Hidden Walk warriors get ready.

Fire-Burns is indeed carrying nothing in the way of weapons except what comes attached to her body, and an almost tangible air of attitude and tension. She lets out the most restrained of soft whuffs when she arrives in the midst of the other warriors, and walks around some of them giving sniffs and greetings. The Uktena and Wendigo contingent are notably omitted from her circling.

Kaz levers herself off her tree and drifts toward Morgan, and gives her a cheerful sort of smile. There's an energy underneath her movements, but she's not letting it out yet.

Circle Keeper's hostile reaction settles first on the Wyvern Pack, focusing on the two Galliards from it. Lips peeling up, his ears shove forward, before he catches scent of Laura and Clemency. The latter gets another, even more foul reaction, before he scoops up one of the bundles he just set down, and starts lumbering towards the former. His limp is looking a little more notable this morning.

Laura looks up long enough to give a tense little smile at Helen, then crouches where she is. She pulls her bowstring from her pocket and begins preparing her weapon. She glances up from her task in time to spy Circle Keeper, and lowers her head to acknowledge his advance. "Circle Keeper-rhya."

Morgan gives Kaz a rather tense grimace in response. In the company of so many Garou, not a few of them already in crinos, she abandons the attempt to keep her coat closed. She does indeed have Touch Deer's knife--it's sheathed at her side, on a belt that looks as though it was probably worked by the former Wendigo Alpha as well. "Kaz-rhya."

Pierces Ice still does not pay heed to those who have gathered, scratching with her claws in the soil. She roughs out map with several small squares, a larger square in the center, and a large asterisk to one side. Satisfied with her drawing she draws herself up to her full, though not considerable, height and finally looks about the clearing.

Circle Keeper dumps the cloth bundle at Laura's feet, before grunting at Helen, and pointing at the other with his head. The stranger Get gets his attention after that, and with ears erect, he starts for Ethan.

Cole frowns when he spots Morgan arriving at a run. "You haven't missed anything, Morgan. Take a breath." If his voice is a bit tense, it's easily explained away given the circumstances. "Good luck tonight, if I don't get to say it before it starts." He drops a wink in his Fianna's direction, turning in time to return Fire-Burns' greetings. When he becomes aware of Circle Kepper's hostility, he sniffs at the air. "Good luck tonight, Circle-Keeper-rhya," he responds with a hint of saccherine in his voice.

Leaves-None's restlessness leaves her milling about the gathering Garou, making slow circuits around the packs. Outside of a bit of panting and an infrequent rumbling there is very little outward noise made by the Ragabash.

Dillen sees the glare from Circle Keeper as well. He shakes his head and mutters something under his breath as he looks back to Cole.

Kaz looks around, and then calls, not loudly but certainly audibly, "Anyone able to use guns? I got a few that'd be kinda useful."

Laura glances at Helen, then finishes stringing her bow. She still doesn't speak, first trying to spy her packmate among the other Garou, then turning to catch another look at Helen. She draws her glove from her pocket and pulls it on, fixing the doeskin over her hand. Finally, she takes a look inside the bundle the Uktena left with her.

Morgan wrinkles her nose and squints at Kaz. "Have knives." And so saying, she lifts the knife she's still carrying in one hand.

Ethan remains somewhere near where Jacinta was drawing in the dirt. He studies the crude diagram until the feral Uktena makes a bee-line for him. The Get ragabash simply nods his head to Circle Keeper.

Fire-Burns, having greeted those she wishes to greet, returns for now to the homid form. She walks to a thicket, rummages in it, and pulls out her well-worn duffel bag, from which she removes a pad of paper and pen. Sitting against a tree trunk, she resumes work on what seems an already near-complete sketch of the face of a young, freckled, snub-nosed woman.

Cole shakes his head to Kaz. "Got something better, but thanks anyways." Dillen gets a smirk, dry and humorless. "Yeah."

Stacey remains quiet, in the background, while everyone gathers, only moving to look over as Jacinta stands. She takes a few steps closer, still tense, almost nervous, and also peers down at the diagram.

Reflection comes tearing through the bawn to the group as they gather and prepare. When he gets near he takes on the homid form. He looks agitated and ready for a fight, yet all know he is not going to be able to join the warriors tonight. He starts to take off his fetish jacket after his transformation to homid is complete and walks over to Jacinta.

Blackriver begins to pace restlessly, keeping an eye on her packmates and glancing every once and a while towards Jacinta.

Pierces Ice, standing over her drawing, eyes Dillen and Cole for just a moment before raising her voice. ~You have heard the call. You have answered. Your appearance is appreciated. Now is the time for planning, for battle soon to begin.~ She lets her gaze now pass over all those gathered, resting for just a moment on Jamethon before she continues on.

Culls-The-Herd trots toward the group in lupus, head raised as she sniffs at the air.

Circle Keeper's jaws start to part, and a rumble starts to form in his chest as Ethan nods, but Jacitna's words forstall any conversation he might have wanted to start. Planting his spear butt first into the ground, he leans on the shaft.

Laura waves Helen towards her, resting her hand on the bundle in front of her. "Here, quickly," she says, sparing her voice for whatever reason. "Take these," she murmurs, separating out some arrows and tucking them quickly into her quiver. The rest are wrapped again and offered to her tribesister.

Ethan raises a brow at the Uktena, but the ragabash does not seem all that concerned. His attention is easily diverted to Pierces Ice, as well. He also spots James, and the fellow Get receives a sly grin.

Cole looks up as Pierces starts to speak. He shrugs and gathers his items into his arms. "Well, planning session begins." He makes his way over to the group coalescing slowly but surely around the diagram.

Pierces Ice gestures with one hand, quick and sharp, to Cole, to Dillen, to Morgan. ~Your strength will be needed here. In case this is but a distraction. In case another attack should come while we do battle. Assist the Warder! Do as he commands. Guard the Heart as though you were Guardians, yourselves.~

Clemency's pencil ceases scratching over paper for a moment as Pierces Ice speaks. She looks up, her eyes landing on Helen and Laura for a moment as her packmate gives the ragabash a selection of arrows.

Helen glances over her shoulder upon hearing Laura's voice; she smiles faintly, and bobs her head towards her packmates before she heads in her tribesister's direction. "Thank you," she murmurs, taking the arrows carefully from Laura. Another faint smile and she's gone back to hang out near her packmates.

Jamethon does not appear to be in a grinning mood tonight, though he does answer Ethan with a terse nod. The Warder moves to stand near Jacinta, looking over the group that has gathered to serve Gaia as he rests the jacket over his right arm.

Leaves-None ends her circling about and pads in closer to watch and listen, keeping within easy sight.

Kaz drifts toward the sketched plans.

Dillen gives Pierces-Ice a nod of his head, "With all I have." He says with all the conviction of the world. The 4X4 is lifted to his shoulder again as he listens.

Laura finds her way over to Clemency, planting the butt of her bow in the soil. She watches the diagram intently.

Cole nods as well, a sour expression crossing his fair features. "If they get this far, they won't get any farther." He shares the same zealous tone as his Fenrir packmate, though he glances to Helen and Blackriver.

Circle Keeper's attention is only half there, the Uktena looking like the explanation and drawings are old news for him. Still, he keeps an eye down, and an ear cocked as his packmate talks.

Blackriver gives Cole and Dillen a look of appreciation before turning back to Jacinta.

Finding the two Black Furies, the Wendigo gestures to them. Then does the same toward the Bone Gnawers. ~Child Holder, Cycle Breaker, Leaves None Behind, You will join with me in support of Ears to the Ground. It is her gift that will draw forth the enemy.~ She drops down to point at the asterisk on her rough map, then rises once more. ~From here will will be ready to make ranged attack.~

Laura studies the rest of the map, her only reply to that a short nod. Again she cracks a bit of a smile, this one a little more feral than before.

Helen bobs her head to Jacinta. "Alright," she says, glancing sidelong to Laura.

Leaves-None rumbles in assent and trots over to Kaz' side, settling there for the moment and continuing to listen.

Laura raises an eyebrow to Helen, then nods.

Cole looks to the other three members of his pack gathered, raising a brow. Something unpsoken passes between the pack members.

Culls-The-Herd settles down on her haunches and yawns, looking from one Garou to the next.

Morgan fingers the steel knife nervously, glancing between those gathered. She's rocking slightly, from one foot to the next, and her face gets a little more heated as the orders start to go out.

Pierces Ice gives a satisfied flick of her ears and continues pointing. ~Blackriver, Fire Burns Forever, Voice of the Unspoken. You will join Walks the Middle Road in following Circle Keeper.~ Again she drops down to gesture at her map. ~You will hide in the trees, here,~ she says before rising. ~Wait until the enemy have passed you, then close them off from escape.~

Circle Keeper lifts the shaft of his weapon slightly, before stamping it down on the ground again. He looks through the list of people, from Lupus to the Get, pausing on Clemency before he looks back to Jacinta. His muzzle lifts slightly.

Stacey straightens as her name is called and nods, looking down to note where is pointed before glancing over at the others.

Clemency looks up and over her sketchpad as Pierces Ice speaks again. She remains silent. At the command to wait and hide, the already dead look in her cold grey eyes seems to grow a little deader. When her battle orders have been fully spoken, she gives one tight nod to the Wendigo, and looks away, her eyes landing on Culls-the-Herd and lingering there several seconds before she resumes work on her sketch.

Blackriver tenses and eyes Jacinta and Circle Keeper carefully, before looking to Cole and giving him a brief brush of her nose. When Pierces Ice speaks she listens attentively, not seeming to understand the map but looking between her fellow attackers and flicking her ears in comprehension.

Ethan nods to Jacinta's idea, his eyes once again falling on Circle Keeper. This time the look is more assessing. "The hammer and anvil," he says quietly and then moves to stand among those to whom he's been assigned.

Kaz says, "Love me some pincushion duty," and trails back over to her canvas bag.

Laura touches her packmate's shoulder for a moment, grinding the butt of her bow into the ground. She raises her face to the wind, then looks back to the plan.

Jihgfed pages to the room: 'Evening ladies and germs, girls and boils. You all here for the show?
Kaz pages to the room: Yipes. Hi! Yes!
Cole pages to the room: Evening, Jihg!
Laura pages to the room: Hello Jihg. Yep.
Circle Keeper pages to the room: He's quite the comedian, that one.
Blackriver pages to the room: Hey Jihg.
You paged the room with 'Aye aye.'.
From afar, to the room, Circle Keeper's here for the free food and drink, honestly.
From afar, to the room, Leaves-None is here for her health.
From afar, to the room, Jamethon was told there would be punch and pie?
From afar, to the room, Ethan heard there would be ice cream.
Circle Keeper pages to the room: STACEY. What did you tell them?
Jihgfed pages to the room: There's all the food you can eat just a mile or so north of us.
From afar, to the room, Jihgfed's ready when you are.
From afar, to the room, Blackriver looks around for the sexy men wolves Stacey promised her.

Pierces Ice huffs out a breath and gives Laura a bit of a nod. ~We will have the sun at our backs, and the wind to theirs. If all works to plan, we have the advantage. But it is important to recall - Ears to the Ground's gift will call all of the Horned Serpent's brood that can hear. We may face more than we plan. And the enemy may come from other places.~

Morgan glances toward Kaz, nostrils flaring.

Kaz tells Morgan, ruefully, "It ain't a real predictable gift."

Cole crosses his arms as he listens to the ongoing plans, still looking rather nonplussed about something. He prods his satchel lightly with the toe of his boot. "Try and save something for us, huh," he asks of Blackriver and Helen.

Morgan doesn't seem to consider this terribly reassuring. Her fidgeting increases, and then, as if it just weren't enough to contain her, she slides easily into her birth form, now clutching that steel knife with her two lower hands, the fingers a little thick on the grip and the sheath.

Dillen looks to Blackriver. "Remember the gift." He nods his head, moving over to lean against a tree. "We will be here when you all come back to hear the story."

Culls-The-Herd yawns once again, looking decidedly bored. The wolf's form begins to blur, growing into the warform. Necklace of teeth rattling faintly, the black crinos makes her way over to Clemency.

Clemency adds a last few lines to her sketch, stares at it for a long moment, and mutters something which only the few garou nearest here are likely to hear. Then she shuts the sketchbook with a snap, tucks it back into her duffel bag, and returns the bag to its hiding place in the thicket, then moves to Dillen. "Should I fall in this fight," she says to him in cold but firm tones, "make sure my bag is given to Thomas Grey. He knows what to do with its contents." Then she turns to look at the approaching Culls-the-Herd.

Ethan grins again, muttering half to himself and half to Circle Keeper, "IT's a good day to die, and the day is not yet over." The bad Star Trek impression seems lost on the Uktena, and the Get's smile fades a little. He sighs, and gets serious again.

Blackriver gives her two packmates a blank look, and pokes them reassuringly with her nose before trotting over towards her group, sliding up next to Clemency.

You paged Culls-The-Herd, Helen, Laura, and Kaz with 'She mutters "Spikes... this one's for Julius."'.

Dillen gives Clemency a bow of his head. "I will make sure of it." He then looks to the Fang. "Just come back. Grey is a grumpy SOB to deal with." A slight smirk.

Cole looks over as Clemency makes the odd request, then moves to stand near to the packmate he has been assigned to serve with. "That's putting it politely. I think Cockroach regularly shits in his coffee."

Circle Keeper indeed looks sideways at Ethan, before giving his ruff a sold shake as to dissmiss any thoughts. Pulling off the bag and dumping it on the ground, the Uktena adjusts the weapon belt around him, and then shifts down to Lupus.

Leaves-None gets to her feet and gives herself a thorough shake from nose to tail as if settling more into place than just her fur. Quick looks are given to each face in the cadre she was named into as her muzzle lolls open slightly.

Laura watches Clemency's movement, then shoulders her bow and edges nearer to Kaz. She closes her eyes then, and concentrates on her breathing. The slow inhalation ends soon enough, and the theurge regards her surroundings with clearer vision. She touches the arrows in her quiver, sorting by touch.

Jamethon stands tall, and looks over the gathered rising to the crinos. ~We are Warriors of Gaia. And we have found honorless insects of the Wyrm that decided to play at being Garou.~ He shakes his head roughly, ~Gaia is affronted at their audacity and will not stand for it. They will be stopped this night and know that the Hidden Walk is doom for the Wyrm.~ He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, ~Already the totems knows that they will ride gloriously into battle with the children of their tribes. No matter which you belong to, all are warriors of Gaia. All born to fight and die so that she might live. Go and make true her will. Lay low the Wyrm and do not suffer it to live beyond this night.~ With this he nods to Jacinta and stands stoic, breath heaving and waiting for the Warriors to head out to battle.

Forest North of I-90(#2354RA) The forest is thinner here than it is south of the highway, though it is still difficult to see for far. Signs of human habitation break the stretch of woods every few miles; roads, paths, farms, and the occasional out-of-the-way home remind you that civilization is encroaching, though in this area, the battle is not yet decided. Hardwoods mix with towering firs and smaller trees, still concealing some of nature's hidden places from the nearby humans. The forest spreads north from Interstate 90, which delineates the souther edge of this area. Marked by logging areas, farms, and other signs of human presence in places, the woods are still relatively unoccupied by humans.

The Garou slip beneath the interstate's culverts, their paws wet in the dank water, their heartbeats and steps ringing back against their metal shell, barely audible for the trucks thumping by above. There's an undeniable but undefinable emptiness to their movements, like not the life but rather the spirit has been sucked right out of them, replaced with a twittering energy. It's a dull, metallic sensation, coppery and dirty, a deadness in their lungs and steps and a quickness in their limbs. The trip through the meadows north of the highway is not a pleasant one. The noise of traffic and its light, foul smell rumbles through the air. The moon above replaces the Garou's lost spirit with Rage. They can feel it, with every whip of the tall grass against their faces, with every creep forwards.

Ears, after that speech, manages to pad along with a solid confidence which is only partially assumed. She keeps to cover in any case, because for one thing, her ears are a bit ridiculous.

Jihgfed pages to the room: There's so much silver right now amongst you guys that, so long as you stay together as a pack, you all have an effective Gnosis of 0. You can't use any gifts that require Gnosis (and any that you may have activated before this point are functionless), and you're not even sure if you can step sideways.
Jihgfed pages to the room: Gifts that don't require Gnosis, shapeshifting, any other junk, all that's fine. Can't activate any fetishes, though.

Blackriver bristles with barely controlled Rage, ears flat and head turning to each strange sound and smell she encounters, as if each shadow and might hold a Spiral behind it. The drain on her spirit side makes her uneasy, and she lets out a soft and high pitched whine in mourning to the gnosis she's held and grown so used to all her life.

Circle Keeper leads his group after Jacinta's, moving at such a slow speed as to be almost ridiculous. The Uktena's whole posture is wary, sniffing along and investigating just about every step of the way, an eye out for traps. The lupus gets a sharp look, and a silent command: Quiet.

Clemency , shifting to crinos once the order to move off comes, pauses to scratch each set of claws on a mossy boulder she passes, slowly, deliberately. One, two, three, four.

Laura stays behind Ears, and slightly to the side. One hand grips the arrows in the quiver to keep them still. The other clutches her bow, which she uses to clear her path. Occasionally, she turns to look for the others in her small squad. She's as quiet as she can be on two legs.

Pierces Ice lets Masao lead the way, since she did the original scouting of the area. Like the others, her posture is tense, wary, and alert for the traps she knows exist.

Helen stays close to Laura, tense and anxious, following after the other Fury slowly.

The Get ragabash Guest-of-the-Walk uses the same boulder to sharpen his own claws. Ethan has also shifted up to crinos, taking on the lean, black and grey form of voice of the Unspoken. He falls in behind Circle Keeper as he was instructed.

Leaves-None limits her reactions to body language, her own ears dipping back at the change in energies. She picks her path from memory with her nose low to the ground in unconscious mimicry of another Gnawer Ragabash.

Ears mostly follows Masao; her confidence remains, although a certain amount of bloody-minded rage also enters into things.

Walks-Middle follows Circle Keeper, matching his slow, cautious speed. The Child is also wary, watching out for traps and keeping low, disconcerted by the loss of spiritual connection, not to mention completely on edge.

Blackriver falls silent at Circle Keeper's command, slowing for a moment to call up the inner resolve to push the pain of wounds away.

Laura takes up a position slightly in front of Helen, sharp eyes watching for the traps they were warned of. Her breathing is slow and steady as she tries to ignore the absence of the spirit world. She bares her teeth as they walk, caught somewhere between the past and the present.

Culls-The-Herd scratches under her chin as she contemplates those around her. Her ears slick back for a moment, then she seems to decide what to do and moves closer to Clemency.

Fire-Burns moves to join Blackriver, her tribemate and successor as elder, and the two Silver Fangs move together towards the battlefield and their assigned place in the trees. Seeing Culls approach, Fire-Burns turns her head sideways. ~Soon,~ she says eagerly to the sept alpha, ~soon, soon...~

There's no tranquility in the dawn: the highway buzzes behind them and the morning air is full of insects. The sun makes pale and distant the high moon. Everywhere there's a distant, vexing energy.

Circle Keeper leads his group beyond Jacinta's after a while, still moving at that a snail's pace along the way. Once they arrive at the predetermined location, he silently indicates they are to spread out, before finding himself a tree, shifting to homid and heading up.

Ears heads toward a fairly obvious spot, once they've reached the general predetermined area, and shifts into glabro. She settles her bag down next to her, takes out the rifle, and her other guns, and sets up carefully.

Voice doesn't bother changing forms. He uses his claws and digs into the bark his chosen tree to give him leverage to climb up. A few agile moves and he is soon on the lowest branch. It shudders briefly under his weight, the leaves whispering, but the Get is not the biggest of garou, and he gauges the tree will hold him. Climbing a little further, he crouches and gets into position.

Laura finds a spot near Ears' position, with her back to something fairly solid. She draws the silver arrows and pushes them point-down in the earth next to her, easy to reach, easy to fire.

Blackriver shifts into glabro and hoists herself up a tree, all the more paranoid now that she's in an uncomfortable form.

KATYA/Blackriver, glabro: This creature before you is obviously not human, but something much more monstrous and primal. She, and after a moment of looking it's clear it /is/ a she, towers a bit over 6 feet feet tall, with long tangled blond hair sweeping down to the bottom of her shoulder. Her eyes are a cold, striking blue, with a tinge of yellow to them. Most noticeable is the small patches of hair running down her checks and arms. They're short strands, almost fur-like, and a deep golden blond. Her check bones are quite square and pronounced, and she seems stronger than most humans, alert and predatory.

Walks-Middle also spreads out, finding a decent tree, and shifts to homid before climbing up into its branches, trying to find a spot that will keep her small form hidden enough.

Pierces Ice steps up beside Ears to the Ground, giving room to the metis and room for her throwing arm. She holds the covered spear in one hand, the nuqok in the other, and waits. Tension radiates through her body, the waiting only adding to it.

Fire-Burns looks up at Blackriver in glabro with curiosity, before she shifts too. She, however, goes the opposite way, and adopts lupus. She conceals her white-furred self as best she can in the thick undergrowth at the base of the same tree that Voice has clambered into, and there she waits, tense as a taut string.

Helen moves close enough to Laura and Ears, doing the same thing Laura does with her own arrows, moving carefully. When done, the Fury glances about anxiously. She lets out a heavy breath that sounds somewhat like a sigh, otherwise quiet, waiting like everyone else.

Circle Keeper pages: Clem's supposed to climb a tree.

The Garou dig themselves in - or hoist themselves up - in the spotty patch of forest to the east, where the bright sun dapples warm pictures across the ground, and the moon is invisible in the canopy. Far off, to the northeast, a lonely outhouse can be barely made out through the slats of trees, while to the west, across a high-grassed meadow, is a dense copse of fir trees, where a faint glimpse of brown at the top may indeed by the purported trebuchet, or just a trick of light and shadows at the crests of trees.

Circle Keeper pages: From earlier, when they were laying out the plan. :) You paged Circle Keeper with 'That's not what Jacinta said.'.

Culls-The-Herd locates a reasonably sized tree and shrinks down into Glabro, before hoisting herself into the pine with a few grunts of effort.

Leaves-None trades lupus for glabro and crouches in the grass also in Ears' vicinity. A quick, appraising look is given to the other Gnawer's supply of weaponry as she licks her lips. Eventually her eyes go to the fir trees and her expression goes stony.

Carefully, Kaz makes sure of her rifle and its ammunition. And then she starts belting a rather peculiar not-quite howl. It grates on the nerves, and it's remarkably piercing, for something coming out of a glabro mouth. And she keeps this grating, piercing, almost revolting noise going.

Circle Keeper pages: Yeah she did. `You will hide in the trees.` But if Clem ICly misunderstood, that's alright.
You paged Circle Keeper with 'I read that (OOC and IC) as 'among the trees' not 'up the trees'.'.
From afar, Circle Keeper nods. She meant up. Woops.
You paged Circle Keeper with 'Fog of war!'.

The sound stretches far, the great inhuman lungs swelling and pushing like bellows. It rattles through the trees, sends morning doves from their cooing fawning and flapping off into the murky blue sky. Seconds roll out with only the fingernails-on-blackboard screeching of the Galliard filling the space between - until, after a space of ten seconds, Ears' call is overridden and supplanted by one that seems to almost blow the leaves off trees. It starts fast and choppy and then curdles like milk; it's both command and cringing, pathetic wheedle, like a child being beaten was suddenly given the ability to scream his pain in the ears of all the world. Then it goes sweet, sickly, and grating, before trailing off - after a few seconds no longer is it the call of a wolf but the cry of a mutilated bird, literally a series of hoots and caws, a wild cacophony, and then silence.

Seconds continue to creep by, faster now, with more urgency. Laura steels her will and nocks an arrow, aiming at the area she expects the enemy should emerge from. Her lips peel back from her teeth.

Circle Keeper clings to his perch, the Uktena's shoulders hunching as he looks around beneath him with considerable concern. Veins buldged from the elevated bloodpressure, he's feeling the edge to the situation.

Kaz mutters to Jacinta, ~That's a warnin' howl from some dipshit on their side. Sayin' Gaian Garou is nearby. In case that wasn't obvious.~ That said, she goes back to her perculiar, irritating, urging call.

Fire-Burns remains at the foot of the tree, motionless save for an ear which flicks a couple of times at the cacophony that sounds out around her.

Pierces Ice's ears pin back and she pulls the cover off the spear-head, revealing the reflective silver tip. Hairs rise along her spine and all down her arms. Her teeth clack together in an anticipatory tremor. Kaz's mutter gets a blink of recognition and a momentary lick of the whiskers. She passes the message on to the Black Furies and Masao.

Masao lowers her head slightly, eyes narrowing at both Kaz' howl and the raucous response. Letting her hands rest on the ground, she curls her fingers around some of the grass tightly and scans across the meadow. The relayed message earns a slow nod of her head and a hitch of her shoulders.

Voice's hackles rise as soon as Kaz begins her call, but the ones that answer it truly make the Get a little antsy. His claws flex nervously, and he bares his teeth. Otherwise, he remains crouched and coiled.

Katya tenses and she too bares her teeth, the action looking odd in her hairy glabro form.

Stacey tenses as she clings to the branches, keeping a look out on the scene beneath and around her, waiting.

Vera grips a steadying branch in the tree, sap making the palm of her hand sticky as she squints into the distance.

Helen grimaces, bearing her teeth at the sound of Kaz's call and the response. She digs the fingernails of both hands into her palms, waiting.

Time slips on and a figure, a small blotch of white, slides from the eastern edge of the small copse of woods. It must be moving fast but from the distance its movements are fluid, soft, and slow. Crinos limbs push it nimbly through the high grass, rage-blinded and easy.

Kaz, while continuing her Call, gestures at the motion, just in case none of the others saw it.

Circle Keeper continues to cling to his high perch while watching the ground.

Laura draws slowly, sighting her target. She inhales and holds that breath. Sharp eyes judge the distance, and she looses her arrow when she's certain the loping form is close enough.

Vera's fingers clench as her body goes stiff and she watches the approaching figure with narrowed eyes.

Pierces Ice's lips pull back, and she readies her spear and thrower, waiting for the best shot; waiting for the prey to come in closer. The weapon gives her only one attack, and she will wait to make it count.

Helen remains clutching her bow tightly, watching the Spirals in the distance. She doesn't go in for an attack just yet.

Masao's eyes track the figure as it comes closer as she inches closer to Kaz and the guns. Then she moves back to the copse itself to see if anything else comes out to play.

Katya pages to the room: Guys, I hate to do this to ya, but I have to go. Night y'all.
Katya has disconnected.

Stacey remains as still as she can, watching the approaching figure and continuing to scan the area.

It gets larger as it gets closer, and less fluid. Its movements are blockier, more static, than they'd seemed at a distance. Its legs don't run right, its white coat is covered in purple blotches like polka dots, and its ears, high as highway pylons, are riddled with wholes. It lopes awkwardly through the tall green grass - fifty metres away, then fifteen, tearing up distance and sending ground-nesting birds up in its wake. For a moment, it stumbles, it seems distracted by the flurry of movement and looks up, stunned, as the small patches of white flitter up into the blue sky like ashes leaving a fire pit.

Kaz keeps up her grating Call, but, before Masao moves away, hands her the shotgun.

Laura sweeps up another silver arrow and nocks it, taking aim again. She holds her shot, waiting for the next good opportunity to open itself.

Masao's hand reaches out for the gun, catching the offer on her peripheral vision just as something else catches it. ~Hey! One's going in the opposite direction! Running away from us!~ she snaps out in a voice as unpleasant to hear as the continuing howl, mostly for the squeaky gravelly sound. She points with her other hand towards the copse itself and moves it as she tries to track what she sees.

Circle Keeper's attention goes to the direction Masao indicates, brow narrowed as he seeks out the sight of the fleeing figure.

Kaz can't exactly intensify her Call, but it's clear, from the snarl emanating from her, and the grating, jumping, irritating sounds coming out of her, that she'd like to try.

Pierces Ice's arm snaps forward - shoulder, elbow, wrist, loosing the spear in a blinding flash at the original target, dropping the thrower on the followthrough.

Shortly after Laura gets ready to fire another arrow, Helen follows suit, waiting anxiously to shoot off the arrow, arms tense. Masao's announcement catches her off guard, and she glances in the direction the Gnawer points towards, guiding her bow and arrow in that direction perhaps hoping that she could see something to shoot at.

Vera's lips pull back in a silent snarl, as she attempts to spot the fleeing figure.

Stacey glances in the direction others look to, but keeps her attention moving, keeping the targets in sight, but also looking out for any others that might approach.

Fire-Burns still remains in her place of concealment, though to keep motionless is obviously a greater and greater burden on the rage-driven ahroun.

Voice mirrors Circle Keeper, eyes shifting to seek out the second moving figure.

The distracted creature doesn't even notice its impending death, eyes attached to the flight of birds, chaotic and beautiful against the bright blue sky. The sound that comes from its throat is not so much a howl as a choke: it reers and barely manages to put its front paw down, like a stumbling cow. Its pace quickens, its face, visible now, a mess of bruises and fur, is full of fury. One arrow has gone right through its shoulder, passed out the other side; a harpoon head sticks to that same arm's elbow, and though only seconds have passed that whole side is red with blood. It passes through the edge of trees, searching blindly for its assailants.

Laura's lip twitches. "Hit the scout," she orders Helen, inhaling, exhaling and firing at the now-much-closer crinos.

Kaz bares her teeth at this creature, ears swivelling, and continues her Call, persistent, compelling.

Pierces Ice draws her knife, turning to seek out the second target.

Helen clenches her jaw, nodding, eyes narrowed. Her arrow flies right after Laura's orders.

Masao's gesture tracks the figure towards in a west-southwesterly direction and she clips out a few more words. ~May be heading for the highway.~ Recognition lights her animalistic features as she glances at the first target, slipping out of mother's tongue to whisper, "Not bored now, are you, fucker? Not for long, either."

Circle Keeper shifts to hispo, dropping down out of his perch and onto four legs more on the dirt.

The instant Circle Keeper drops out of his tree, Fire-Burns is on her feet and alongside him, herself shifting to hispo also, poised for action.

Voice follows suit, dropping from his tree to land heavily in a crouched position beside Circle Keeper, opposite Clemency.

Vera drops out of her tree as well, shifting into lupus once she hits the ground.

Kaz, at Masao's comment, falls into Crinos and continues her grating howl, on the theory that a Crinos Call will carry further.

Stacey spots Circle Keeper as he moves, and then she too drops down out of her perch, shifting to hispo as well.

The Dancer beneath seems fanatically grateful to see movement in the sun-speckled woods, to finally have something it can sink its mad claws into. Its body is buckled and bent as it turns to face the first to drop - Circle Keeper - its beaten eyes wide and hungry, fur bristled up like shafts, quickly joined by two more as a pair of arrows move through it. One enters its chest and slides right through unhindered to the ground below, as smoothly and as neatly as if it had passed through tissue paper. Another hits bone and splinters at his back. The thing doesn't even seem to notice; its mind is elsewhere, if it exists at all. It stares at Circle-Keeper with unspeakable anger and misunderstanding, more animal than human. It doesn't make it more than a step forward before it collapses, still staring, though eyes no longer move. The sun continues to play across its purple bruises as the leaves dance above.

Laura's anger surges, and she draws out the third arrow. This one is also readied, aimed yet again in the direction the Black Spiral Dancer emerged from. There's a slight tremor in her hand, and her jaw works as she watches.

Helen quickly picks up another arrow and readies it in her bow, waiting for another chance to fire it.

~Get. Walks-Middle. Get the one to the west. Run fast.~ Ciuraq growls out, to Ethan and Stacey. The deformed thing gets run around quick, as he starts heading northwards towards the camp at a slow pace. ~Fire-Burns follows me.~


Shortly after Kaz's now-Crinos howl, another answers, thin and reedy and creeping from the west. It's a sound of unadulterated rage, blunted by the intervening distance, the trees and space it travels through. It's a call not of wolves but of birds: a slow ululation like the throaty warble of angry turkey. It would be almost comical if it weren't for the utter, dire need that's in it, a starving thirst for blood.

Voice's claws dig into grass and dirt as he tears off after the one to the west--as instructed. For speed, he shifts on the fly to hispo.

Kaz's continuing Call gets an almost gleefully fierce brassy tone to it, briefly. "Come and get it!" is the implicit message.

Fire-Burns lets out a savage cry of satisfaction as the first enemy drops lifeless at Circle Keeper's feet, right alongside her, and, unlike the Uktena, she deliberately runs over it, claws raking at its dead flesh, as she obeys his order to follow her.

Walks-Middle turns and takes off after the Spiral that is fleeing west as soon as Circle Keeper growls, running as fast as possible to catch up to it. She raises her hackles at the new howl, but keeps running toward her target.

Come, Voice-Of-The-Unspoken, Culls-The-Herd says as lupus feet propel her toward the west and she paces the Get of Fenris. Let us hunt!

Masao growls under her breath as her glance back finds the fleeing shape already gone. The bird-like howl elicits a slight duck of her head that's almost a wince. Hand tightening around the shotgun, she takes a moment to scan the area around her group for anyone or anything that could be coming at them from other angles.

Laura shifts her position to offer the Galliard more cover, facing a little more to the west. She lets slack the bowstring, ready to draw and fire the arrow at a moment's notice.

Pierces Ice holds a fist in the air, signaling those with her to hold fire. She waits, eyes seeking further sign for just a moment before turning to those with her. ~Let the Galliard's call ring out. Let the others take down this one. Be ready in case more come. If they do not, we will sweep north, find their holes.~

Kaz's Call does indeed ring out. She carefully puts the gun down, since, after all, it's not as if she can use it in Crinos, and growls under her breath. Clearly, she'd rather be fighting than ululating, but there it is.

Three Garou go off to the west as fast as their paws will carry them. Great funnels of grass spread out behind, like the wake of boats in the sea. Two go more cautiously, north-west, where a clump of fir trees sits awkwardly against the breezy meadow. The forest where the remainder of the Garou stalk is silent excpet for the terrible sound of Kaz's continuing call. Slowly, the smell of the body on the floor begins to wind its way into the winds. It smells of liquor and sweat, and of course the rich meaty smell of blood that's pouring so quickly into the grassy earth.

Jihgfed pages to the room: Ah, splitting up. Every GM's bane.

Jihgfed pages to Fire-Burns and Circle Keeper: This is a grove of evergreens, thick as thistles, the canopy so low it will prick a wolf's ears as it passes. The trees are young but stunted, and the brush is thick, with mad tangles of broken branches and a thick pine needle carpet. Here the greens of spring are already turning to the browns of summer; there's a sense of brittleness and death; despite their youth many of the trees are as cold and bare as bones. Here and there whole trees have been removed from the forest, cut at the root. The closer in you get the more there's the foetid smell of filth growing stronger and stronger, thicker and thicker: faeces and urine, vomit, sex, and blood, like all the sewers of the world have been dredged up and left to sit in the sun a few days. It isn't permeated, yet; it's shallow and hasn't seeped in to the trees and the earth. The fat full moon gleams through the needles of firs and shines off the dozens of bottles, cans, and shiny foil wrappers scattered throughout the undergrowth, thrown haphazardly. A single product predominates, a thin plastic bottle with a tacky old-fashioned label reading, `Newfie Screech`. You hear no signs of life except for the cooing of morningdoves, oblivious to what's below.

Laura holds her fire, despite her seething Rage. She watches intently for any sign of the Enemy, her nose twitching irritably at the reek of the dead one.

Kaz glares at nothing in particular as she grates out further variations on the Call.

As Ciuraq and Clemency slowly and steadily press through the brush, the Uktena seems to take on considerable irritation to his posture. Backing up a distance, he growls out to Jacinta to get her attention, before silently telling her 'nothing'.

Masao turns her attention back towards the copse when her quick search of the area yields nothing outward. She actually stares dead-on at the trees and fidgets in place like she wants to go there.

Jihgfed pages to the room: Those off in groups, please page just to me and to your own group.

Fire-Burns's face shows disgust at the defilement of the area. ~The filthy, filthy, filthy things,~ she snarls to Circle Keeper. ~They die for this, here, now.~ With that threat she presses ahead of the Uktena a little, searching eagerly for further targets.

Kaz mutters something to Jacinta.

Kaz grunts, and heads west, with appropriate care, the grating ululation continuing. For now.

Jihgfed pages to the room: Hold a moment, please. For Clemency and Circle Keeper to fully scout the bush, and return, would take a good five minutes. They do indeed find nothing, so the poses can still hold, I just want to make sure the timeline's straight.

Jihgfed pages to Fire-Burns and Circle Keeper: And here's the centre of the group of trees: The great machine dominates this small clearing carved from the forest itself, a circle of snapped tree trunks and uprooted brush less than ten metres wide. Growing out of it, taller than three Garou, is a mammoth contraption of burnt trees and prefabricated plastic. The clearing seems barely wide enough to berth it; it gapes obscenely out, like a too-large infant scrambling out of its dark womb. The shadow it casts stretches cold out across the trees. Beneath it there's a fire pit where the skewers still hold chunks of unidentifiable meat, burnt to a cinder. There were no bathrooms, no bedrooms here: it looks like a communal cess-pit used for weeks, for all purposes, and with the detritus of its use still fetid and almost eagerly presented, as if purposefully. Hanging from the great machine, from the plastic basket of weight, a girl is bound by the hands; her eyes are sunken, her clothes hang off of her like drapery from a skeleton, and she has been dead for days. Her head hangs limply, a tussle of dirt-blonde hair all that's visible. There are bottles everywhere, but still no signs of life.

Jihgfed pages to Fire-Burns and Circle Keeper: It's not terribly far - that's why heading to the copse, completely scouting it for Dancers, and returning, takes only five minutes.

Laura gathers her arrows, puts them into the quiver, then begins stalking west, watching every step.

Jihgfed pages: From the looks of the body, it's starvation. You're no doctormetician, though.

From afar, to Jihgfed and Fire-Burns, Circle Keeper growls low to the Silver Fang, stamping his foot in the indicated direction: No. Charach says den is this way. Follow, he adds, starting to move at the same, measured pace to the west. With as much compassion as a poptart, he leaves the deceased woman there without comment.

Masao nods sharply and rises from her crouch fluidly, moving cautiously to the west. There's a barely restrained tension in her posture and an expression somewhere between trepidation and curiousity.

Slowly Helen gets her things together and follows the other Garou, jaw set, eyes darting about anxiously.

You paged Jihgfed and Circle Keeper with 'Clemency runs up to the bound girl and places a hand on her cold body. For a moment she doesn't move. Then she whirls round, and the savage look on her face would frighten the Wyrm itself. She doesn't speak to the Uktena or acknowledge his presence; she takes off at a gallop, howling in wordless fury, in the direction he indicated. Unlike his measured pace, she's moving at full tilt, no caution or restraint.'. You paged Jihgfed with 'She's gone. Frenzy :)'.

From afar, to Jihgfed and Fire-Burns, Circle Keeper growls as Clemency passes him, then picks up his pace slightly also.

Circle-Keeper has rendezvoused with the rest, who are now moving west at a brisk pace as they cross the meadow, following, though more slowly and with the reservations of caution, the moon-addled Silver Fang who shot raging westwards from the copse of trees just a few seconds ago.

Circle Keeper keeps up his faster pace, trying to keep up with the Silver Fang to an extent. ~Nothing.~ He pants out to the packmate as he passes. ~Their home.~

Pierces Ice picks up the pace a bit, still cautious, but more hurried.

Fire-Burns has evidently thrown all caution, and possibly all sanity, to the winds. Howling wildly and wordlessly she's running as fast as her legs will carry her, ahead of the rest, arms raised and claws curled ready to strike.

Laura sets her arrow away and slings her bow over her shoulder. She moves to one side, to get a different view of the situation. No orders this time-she watches Jacinta for cues and direction.

Having ceased her calling at the Wendigo's direction, Kaz keeps with the westward heading group and matches pace. Breath for the quick travel comes easier without the howl to keep up.

Masao, on the other hand, seems reluctant to follow for a moment. The Ragabash pauses to give the copse an indescribable look and murmur before she takes off again to catch up with the group.

The Ahroun at the head of the pack leads not with strength or purpose but with blind rage. Her flashing claws mince through the grass and bushes in her way, and her wordless ambition is simply to put distance beneath her paws and sate the bloodlust that drives every action. She quickly outpaces the more cautious Garou behind her, who face the choice of either abandoning caution as the Silver Fang has and beating down the wind, or letting her move off on her own, beyond their immediate succour.

Pierces Ice snarls out an order for Fire Burns to hold back, but does not let her group run heedless of the traps of which they've been warned. Chafing at the need for caution, she maintains as quick a pace as she dares.

Fire-Burns shows no sign whatever of hearing or heeding Pierces-Ice. She maintains both her speed and her menacing wordless howls.

Laura bares her teeth at Fire-Burns' disappearing form. She dithers a moment, then changes course, the better to keep an eye on her packmate.

Two groups converge: out of the western undergrowth, Walks-the-Middle-Road and Voice-of-the-Unspoken smash out of bushes and over tree stumps, as fast as their paws will let though without the urgency of pursuit. Fire-Burns meets them first though she doesn't stop for conversation; the rest of the Garou are not far behind. They meet beneath the morning sun, in the most serene of meadows, still with rage and spiritlessness buzzing about their minds.

Voice skids to a halt, whirling to see Fire-Burns fly past him. He lets out a growl but does not chase her down. Instead, he turns back to find the main group. As he does, he hooks up with his partner--Walks-Middle. Snarling out information in quick, succinct words, he tells Pierces Ice and Circle Keeper what he knows. ~Five, maybe more, due west in a house. Culls stayed to watch. Some went north, one chased us, but went back.~

Circle Keeper keeps up his accelerated pace, giving Stacey a once over as if to make sure alll the parts she left with are still there.

Walks-Middle slows to a stop as she reaches the group, turning around to move west with them as Voice speaks. She growls her agreement to his explanation, but has nothing to add to it herself.

Pierces Ice snarls out frustration. ~Start at the house. Two groups, as before. Circle Keeper to the left, my group right until we meet. We'll catch the runners after.~

Laura and Helen rush along with the others. Traps are checked for, though not as thoroughly as they could be. Both women are intent on whatever is ahead, the theurge a little edgier about her packmate. Rage simmers in both as they once more follow Jacinta's orders, banking to the right when the house comes into view.

Fire-Burns almost collides with Voice and Walks-Middle as she goes barrelling by them, paying them no more heed than she did Pierces-Ice a second ago. She's heading west at full steam ahead, and if her wild face and incoherent snarls are anything to go by, whatever she meets to the west will have cause to regret the meeting.

Masao catches up to Kaz and paces her tribemate as the meadow is traversed. At the brief meet-and-greet with the some of the rest of the morning's party, they exchange quick grins before moving onward. They, too, shift to the right to keep the group together.

Voice, with the word from Jacinta, sets off yet again back west. He moves quicker and with less caution than is probably prudent. Having already been over the ground twice, he moves as though he believes the way he picks is safe.

Through brush and small groups of trees Fire-Burns chases imaginary monsters that look the same as she. Two groups fork around the mad Crinos. The scenery flits by, a succession of blurs, and the cottage is made in no time flat. Fire-Burns goes through the door without opening it, a mess of splinters and fury; the rest of the Garou are behind, converging at the house a good time after - some thirty seconds, an eternity in the bloody-eyed moments of pursuit and combat.

Jihgfed pages: You're out of frenzy. There's a dead girl at your feet, in a house that's full of bottles of liquor and tacky upholstery.

From afar, to the room, Voice renames Fire-Burns Ignores-Doors.
Walks-Middle pages to the room: Yeah, that's the second door this week! Voice pages to the room: Doors-Bane!
Masao pages to the room: Burns-Through-Doors.

Circle Keeper leads his group around to the left side of the house, looking for the first available door on that side of the building to barrel through. Failing that, the hispo promotes a window to the same function.

Voice is looking for Culls the Herd. Not seeing her makes him nervous. He does as Circle Keeper suggests, but he also uses his noae, trying to find the alpha's scent--and the others' scents as well.

Pierces Ice moves to the right as she also seeks entry to the house. But as well, she keeps an eye out for what may be beyond the house.

Laura fights the urge to Change just long enough to take off her bow and secure her arrows-the bow is tossed into the grass, the arrows capped in their quiver. Helen does the same, and both women flank Pierces-Ice in the search for an entrance/enemy.

Fire Burns> The haze of frenzy is beginning to lift from your eyes. Things are beginning to coalesce in shapes and forms that are intelligible to the non-instinctual mind: there's the sofa, it's for sitting on. It's an ugly one, even you know that. Your breath comes quickly. There's beer and bottles on the couch and there's the sound of white fuzz from the television. It's a smooth, cooling sound, that helps you ground yourself and eases the smashing of your heart. The television box - an ancient one, set into its own stand - is knocked to the floor, its whole corner a maelstrom of broken bits of wood and drywall and blood. The flicker of the screen lights everything up in pale colours, the morning sun can't pierce the blinds. Crumpled in the mess of the corner is the barely distinguishable body of a young girl, fifteen or so, well-fed, not exactly pretty, ripped to ribbons.

Walks-Middle follows behind Circle Keeper and Voice, keeping attentive and looking about for any sign of the spirals.

The Gnawer caboose on this little Garou train keeps eyes and ears alert as they bring up the rear. Kaz and Masao turn their senses in opposite directions from each other as they run to look for targets and keep their backtrail clean.

If Circle-Keeper wants a window, he's got it: the whole southern side of the house is one huge window, stretched out in full 50s splendour, from one faux-rock corner of the house to the other. Breaking through it isn't only easy, it's fun. The house inside has thick smells of sweat and plastic, and is in the poorest state of clutter, with pizza boxes and empty bottles all over, like a group of particularly filthy squatters had taken up residence.

Voice's hispo nostrils flare as he catches a rather strong scent. He snarls to get Pierces Ice's attention. ~This way,~ he tells both her and Circle Keeper, padding quickly toward the north. He seems anxious, and the house does not hold his attention at all anymore. ~North.~

Fire-Burns, inside the house, is motionless now at last. Her attention is held firmly by the white-noise buzzing of a television set, pictureless and staticky, on its side on the floor. She's panting as though exhausted, or coming out of a fit.

No sooner is he in, Ciuraq lashes around in a circle, before Voices gets his attention. Departing the way he came, he readly abandons the building for heading north outside.

Walks-Middle turns with a faint growl at Voice's call and heads north, keeping pace with Circle Keeper and the Get.

Pierces Ice turns, nose working to try to catch whatver scent hold's the Get's nose. She hurries after, but snarls an order to Masao to hang back slightly and range out, keeping watch. The others are told to V, letting the Fostern Ragabash take point.

Pierces Ice pages to the room: Masao and Helen, opposite sides.

There is an order, and the Furies obey. They each take their hispo forms. Child-Holder falls in behind the others on the right side of the V, and Helen rushes out a little farther, ready to scout.

Voice eagerly takes the point. Occasionally his nose lowers to make sure he follows the trail left by Culls the Herd, but it seems mostly unnecessary--so strong is the trail. He lopes along as swiftly as he can, tongue out and slavering a little. The chase is making him restless. The Get wants blood.

It is a fairly obvious urine trail that the Garou are following: Vera has marked her way quite clearly. Beneath it, almost blotted out by the acrid smell of intentional marking, is the smell of the Dancers they track, heavy and complex like the smell of old cheese or infection. It's ten minutes before they come on the Adren Shadow Lord herself, loping along as fast as she can while still following the long thick trail of scent.

Masao drops back behind Kaz and to the left, fanning out and dropping down into hispo to stretch her legs out. The Galliard ahead of her does much the same but is on four paws by the time the Ragabash is in position and shifting, senses keen.

She's broken two doors this week. Perhaps three in a week is unlucky or something, for when the door at the back of the cottage opens to let Fire-Burns out it does so in the normal way. The Ahroun looks round a little woozily before seeing and scenting the others, and picking up speed again -- not her previous mad dash, but a more controlled sprint to catch up.

Circle Keeper remains marginally behind the Get Ragabash, trying to keep with the pace the best he can, despite the smells about.

Culls-The-Herd looks up as the others catch up with her, tongue lolling. ~They have pulled ahead and flee in fear, but their trail is still fresh.~

Voice continues forward north, whirls back to make sure that the others still follow, and then continues north.

Pierces Ice urges Voice of the Unspoken forward, her packmates flanking her, those of the Gibbous moon just a bit behind and the cliath ragabash ranging out from there. Catch them, her posture says as she continues on.
Child-Holder and Cycle-Breaker encourage once another with chuffs and posture, the no-moon a little more silent than the theurge. The chase, and Gaia's Vengeance, is everything now.

Voice's dark golden eyes gleam with focused energy at Pierces Ice's order. He moves out with a purpose now.

Fire-Burns picks up speed until she's on the heels of Circle Keeper and Voice. ~What happened? How many more?~ she pants at them as they run.

Walks-Middle follows along behind her packmates and the Get, what anxiety she'd felt has long left her in the midst of running back and forth.
Ears and Leaves-None continue to pound paws to dirt in the race to catch the fleeing foes. The thrill of the chase spurs them on while the newmoon keeps tabs on the surrounding area.

It's easy enough to follow the trail the Dancers leave behind: their unwashed stink is hard to miss. Morning begins to slip towards noon, and the mornindoves are replaced by sparrows and larks which everywhere sing the Garou's passing. It's impossible to tell whether they're catching up or not by scent alone - but it's easy to tell when the trail forks into four.

Voice growls in frustration. He stands at the four point fork to wait for the others to catch up. While they gather, he uses his nose again to gather as much as he can about the various scents--how many, and who went in which direction.

Culls-The-Herd sniffs furiously at the ground, where the scents split off into different directions. ~Their Alpha is female,~ the Shadow Lord notes.

Walks-Middle pages to the room: Damn. I can't hit a woman.
Voice pages to the room: I can! er.
Child-Holder pages to the room: That's like, practically our job!

Circle Keeper sniffs at the ground a few moments, before looking to the Wendigo Fostern, panting. Takes Walks-Middle. Goes this way, he indicates with a question.

Jihgfed pages to the room: There are four different scents, two female, all lupine, all sick.

Fire-Burns runs up behind Circle Keeper, sniffing keenly. ~They scatter.
They fear us,~ she sneers, and without waiting for orders she starts to hare off up the leftmost of the four scent-paths.

Walks-Middle steps a bit closer to Circle Keeper as she is indicated, glancing down the path and then looking over to Pierces Ice expectantly.

Pierces Ice takes in the scents and quickly gestures toward each of the four trails. ~Voice of the Unspoken, Fire Burns Forever,~ she snarls at the first trail. She grunts assent to her packmate and then points to the third. ~Ears to the Ground, Leaves None Behind, Culls the Herd.~ Then she swings her head toward the Black Furies. ~With me,~ and she's off on the fourth trail without a backward look.

Child-Holder watches her packmate run off, then turns back. She and Cycle-Breaker sort themselves out, then both of the glossy black hispo charge after the Wendigo Fostern.

Circle Keeper takes off again once his question is confirmed, jogging down the indicated trail.

The Gnawer pair pause long enough to get directions and fall in with the Shadow Lord before taking off up the third trail.

Voice takes off down the first path with only a cursory glance to see if the Silver Fang has the sense to follow.

The paths are quiet except for the panting of Garou and the call of songbirds which clutter the air, filling it with soft cacophany. They weave around human civilization, catching the backs of chain link fences, breaking through gravel roads. The sun has grown high over the sky and it beats now with a ferocity unlike spring, sapping energy and making madness.

Clemency, Ethan> You travel your path for ten solid minutes, more or less abreast, noses fast against the ground. The smell of the Black Spiral Dancer is infuriatingly close, you can practically taste its stench in your mouth. The distracting noise of starlings is a nuisance, the sun seeps into your pores. Another scent begins to intermingle - upon realizing what it is you look up, almost too late, see bushes shake as hidden wolves burst Crinos. It's all movement and rush and they're on you - three of them? Four? It's impossible to tell: all you see is claws and darkness and the growing well of rage.

Jihgfed pages to Fire-Burns and Voice: Please pose to the room only what they might catch: i.e., howls and sounds. This is the first round of combat. Ethan, you, having a higher wits, _are_ able to tell that there's four of them exactly, all Crinos now, and panting hard. They attack with mad anger but there's fear in them also.

From the direction in which Ethan and Clemency ran come the sounds of garou in battle, snarls and howls. Then there's a sudden silent explosion of light in that same direction.

Voice pages to Jihgfed and Fire-Burns: Before I pose, is this assumption correct: Normal combat sounds they wouldn't hear, but the group (our other PC groups) would hear a howl for help?
Jihgfed pages to Fire-Burns and Voice: Normal sounds they'd barely make out. Howls would be pretty clear.

You paged Jihgfed and Voice with 'Fire-Burns leaps upon the nearest enemy garou, with teeth and claws all flashing. Then as she does so, she seems to explode in a massive ball of blinding white light. (She's activated Lambent Flame)'.

From afar, to Jihgfed and Fire-Burns, Voice is so eager to be in combat at this point, he lunges forward rather than think clearly. He slams into the first garou to come from the bush, teeth sinking into sullen and sickly flesh with some satisfaction. Tearing back and forth violently, the direness of his situation eventually dawns on him. The ragabash tries to elude the attackers, using his speed to dodge and bite where he has the chance. Only then does a rallying call come out. It's clipped and hurried, but clearly a howl for help.

Not long after the flash of light, a howl rises into the otherwise serene sunny afternoon. It's the voice of Voice of the unspoken, a clear call for help.

Jihgfed pages to Fire-Burns and Voice: It's a blind flash of claw and light. Three are on Clemency: it's by luck and surprise that she's not dead. The sudden brightness sends claws this way and that, awry and awkward, dark limbs against the bright sunshine and Falcon's gifts. Voice only has to deal with one, but it's a big one: it stretches in for his legs, teeth against hamstring, but the Ragabash narrowly manages to swing his leg away and use its leverage to come down on the monster like a theatre sandbag. Fire-Burns for her efforts has entrails on her claws.

You paged Jihgfed and Voice with 'Clemency is pretty much biting and clawing whatever's closest and in reach, as before. Aiming for eyes, bellies, and other familiar week spots.'.

From afar, to Jihgfed and Fire-Burns, Voice harries the big monster that's chosen him. He remains in hispo, darting in to bite, only to dash back away, trying to stay clear of the thing's grip while doing as much damage as he can.

Jihgfed pages to Fire-Burns and Voice: Fire-Burns is like a rag doll between a trio of dogs, though her claws sing. One of the beasts goes down but her howl of pain and fury fills the air, scaring off the birds, bristling past the leaves. Her body frantically struggles to knit itself back together and red takes her eyes and her beautiful coat. Voice-of-the-Unspoken is controlling his share of the fight, trading blow for blow, dodge for dodge, though his hit heavier, and move swifter. Clem, you've rage-healed back from -11 to -6. You're also frenzied - fox or berserk, your choice.

You paged Jihgfed with 'Oh, Clemency's keen, she can manage two berserks in one night. She's all yours, pose her away.'.

From afar, to Jihgfed and Fire-Burns, Voice, seeing Clemency's condition, breaks off from the one he's been attacking to leap up on the back of one of the Silver Fang's assailants. It leaves him vulnerable to the one he's been fighting, but he makes the sudden attack count for as much as he can. He goes right for the throat.

It's death and violence beneath the noonday sun. The trees let through enough light to plainly see the bodies and the blood, glistening in dark splatches against bark and fur. After one last wrenching effort Fire-Burns' light has faded: she has died with her claws in the Wyrm. Voice-of-the-Unspoken is alone against the three creatures that still stand, or limp, or hunch: they are on him like dogs, fierce and with no sense left in them, their eyes wild, teeth bloodied, madness in them, while he is on one of them himself, practically riding the thing, smashing claws into its neck with wild urgency. The thing laughs as he does, it crows like a rooster with its throat scraped, it tries to throw back its head but the knives of the Ragabash' hands slice the tendons that hold the head up. It's this, through the slats of trees, that the two groups of Circle-Keeper and Walks-the-Middle, and Pierces-Ice and Child-Holder, see.

Circle Keeper, once he's free of the trees and closer in, surges up to Crinos in a heartspan and flings his silver tipped spear at the one closest to him with all his heft.

No hesitation, no further battle plan. ~Take them out!~ Pierces the Ice howls, rushing forward herself.

Walks-Middle lets out a fierce growl as she flows up into Crinos, rushing forward to leap into the fray, claws ready to sink into what Dancer she can reach.

All of the control that has kept Child-Holder from rushing after her packmate snaps. She rockets to crinos, screaming obscenities that mix every language she knows. She barrels ahead, directly for whoever, whatever carries the sickening stench of the Wyrm.

Cycle-Breaker is slightly less blinded by her Rage. She jinks and weaves, then abruptly rushes one of the Black Spiral Dancers, hispo jaws aiming to close on its leg.

Voice is done with feinting and playing. He strikes out at anything in front of him, digging into flesh, tearing through fur and hide, ignoring the same that's done to him. The ragabash is drenched in their blood as well as his own, and it lends the Get an eerie, obscene aspect.

Culls-The-Herd shifts into crinos as she joins the fray, claws at the ready as she goes to the aid of Voice-Of-The-Unspoken.

The fallen Silver Fang's body blurs for the final time as she returns in her dying to her birthform. She's landed on her back, and her grey eyes are open. As Pierces-Ice comes howling and leaping to fight the Dancers over her fallen form, she looks up at the Wendigo through darkening eyes, and somehow finds the strength to give a cry of joy. "Spikes! Spikes! You came back... for me..." and those are the last words she speaks as she slumps backwards.

Another of the Dancers goes down, silver slipping over her shoulder and then a fistful of claws coming up in her stomach. She goes down in blood and glory and Voice-of-the-Unspoken goes down right after her, though he at least comes back up shortly afterwards in a groaning exertion of willpower and rage, hurling himself blearily back up to his feet. The Dancers push past him: the gleam of silver puts fear in their mad eyes, and they both turn their attention to Pierces-Ice, to meet her weapon with their own gnarly hands.

Circle Keeper's not going to go for that, however. Seeing Jacinta being cornered by the two, The Uktena puts on speed that seems impossible for him, throwing himself, claws and teeth, at one of them with a roar.

Child-Holder continues her incoherent screaming, managing to center in on one of the still-moving Spirals. She channels her Rage to move fast and sharp at the thing, attacking with claw and fang.

Walks-Middle also rushes forward, throwing herself on the other Spiral that nears Jacinta, drawing on her Rage as she lunges forward, aiming to claw or bite as possible.

Cycle-Breaker fits where she can, nipping at heels, slashing at legs.

The Gnawer Express, perhaps a little off its timetable, come pounding in at the Alpha's heels and spring into Crinos. Ears goes high, Leaves-None goes low, the smaller Ragabash going for legs, forelimbs, anything of the Dancers that come within her reach.

Voice's limbs entangle with the dead Spiral. He struggles to get to his feet, slipping back down in all the blood and gore. Disoriented for a moment, he snarls at the dead abomination he's tangled up with, and then he sees Clemency. The fury and anger drain somewhat as he looks at the lifeless Silver Fang. Once again, he struggles to his feet, determined.

Pierces Ice's rushes forward, knife a blur in her attack. No words, just a growl of nonverbal hatred escapes her throat.

With silver in play, things go quickly, though not smoothly. The fear that enters even the far-gone Dancer's eyes at the soft white metal spurs them to action and they are on Pierces-Ice with claws and fury as she neatly slices the muscles from their bones. They spill like slit wine sacks onto the ground but their claws are still sharp and their eyes are still wild, they batter her about, their teeth catch her neck. Circle-Keeper's interposition takes the claw that may have killed her. Then it's chaos with Garou from all sides on the pair and taking out all their stored rage and hatred and frustration; it seems to take minutes for the flesh to stop flying from their bones, their blood seeping into the dirt, making a thick red soup.

Circle Keeper doesn't stop. He keeps clawing and tearing: Flesh is pulled from flesh, flesh is pulled from bone, bone is pulled from vicsera, and viscera are torn up even finer. He seems intent on butchering the thing until there's nothing left to butcher, and with quite agressive abandon, growling all the way.

The knife is sheathed without thought as Pierces the Ice clamps a hand over the blood-spurting wound in her neck. Unlike her packmate, she steps back from the carnage once the enemies have fallen. She also sinks down to a three limbed crouch, white fur gone a deep red on nearly all of her left side. For too long, blood continues to flow beneath her ham-hand.

Voice manages to get to his feet only to slip in the river of gore and fall back on his ass. A snarl escapes his muzzle, but he has the sense, now that things have calmed, to stay put this time. His breath is ragged and uneven.

It's been years since Child-Holder has unleashed her ferocity so thoroughly. As the Enemy falls, she stops, as though she's not quite sure what to do. Cycle-Breaker scouts the clearing, searching for more trails, more hidden enemies, as the theurge stares at her paws. Then it's as though she's snapped out of it. Child-Holder slips to her human form and raises her chin. Her expression is blank as she rounds on the nearest wounded party.

Circle Keeper finally pulls himself off the dead body, but not before urinating on it first. Covered in gore, he limps over to his weapon and pulls it out of the dead body, eyes searching the ground as he goes.

Culls-The-Herd's claws are red, but its hard to say how much damage she caused the enemy. She looks over those gathered, eyes expressionless. Jacinta's state causes her to lay back her ears, but the Wendigo remains alive and that seems to be enough to satisfy the Adren. Walking over to the fallen Silver Fang's body, Culls-The-Herd picks her up and cradles the limp form in a surprisingly gentle manner. ~There is too much silver here, it saps our spiritual energy,~ she rumbles, mostly to herself. ~Pierces-Ice, the battle is over. Shall we return home?~

Walks-Middle also backs away once the Dancers have fallen, her claws dripping with blood. She lets out a few ragged breaths, then takes a couple steps toward Clemency's body, stopping as Vera picked her up, the Child's expression twisted in grief and rage.

Fury is fury and it does its job well when unleashed. The claws of Ears and Leaves-None do their part, separating and backing off and away from the carnage when there is no more to be done. It takes great effort for Leaves-None to remain quiet, but she does so with some willpower and simply exudes a mixture of sadness and fading anger.

Jihgfed pages to the room: Clean up can be done by +mail. That's six Dancers dead (Clemency killed on in the house before anyone even arrived, which you'd find out if/when you searched the place). Thanks for coming, everyone. Sorry it was so long and so draining.

Pierces Ice's hand is still clamped over her neck, though the flow of blood has lessened. Her eyes narrow at Vera and she scans the area. It takes obvious effort, but she forces herself upright again. ~Take the Silver Fang home. Ears to the Ground, I leave you responsible for the bodies. Leaves None Behind, Cycle Breaker...~ She pauses, looking over to Voice of the Unspoken, ~Are you well enough?~

Circle Keeper pokes at one of the bodies, a homid, stabbing it once or twice more as it to make sure it's still dead. Planting his spear to the side, he straddles the body, only to pull out his knife and start cutting off the head.

Voice actually starts to laugh. It sounds disturbingly similar to the calls of the Spirals from earlier. ~Me? Of course,~ he tells the Wendigo. and though it's a struggle, he manages to get to his feet. Offers of aid are met with a quick, snap-jawed rejection.

~Care to walk back with me?~ Culls-The-Herd asks of the Get of Fenris, as she starts the long walk back toward the Caern.

Leaves-None turns her gaze to Pierces Ice with solemn attentiveness, flexing her hands a few times fitfully. Ears gives a short nod of assent and looks about the scene measuringly.

Pierces Ice nods to the Get, the gesture setting off a fresh flow of blood. She winces, stills her head, and tightens her hand over her neck. ~Their home and camp still needs to be searched. The areas between, Grey said, lay rife with traps. We need to clean it, before we can call ourselves done.~

Laura doesn't get too close to Pierces Ice, apparently functioning on autopilot as she tries to get a look at the injury. Vera moving off draws her attention, she half-opens her mouth, then shuts it again. Instead, she waits.

Cycle-Breaker perks her ears at mention of the traps and the search. She pads nearer and chuffs agreement.

Leaves-None gives a dip of her head to the Wendigo and a brief look of concern for the neck-wound.

Pierces Ice looks from Garou to Garou, her movements slow and unsteady. ~I am honored to have fought beside each of you.~ She dips her head ever so slightly, eyes half-closing. "Quyana" ~for your help.~

Laura's hand shakes a bit as she pulls off her jacket and begins to tear it to pieces. "Stay still," she says, stepping forward, winding the makeshift bandage around her hand. "Let me cover it. I need a needle." Each sentence delivered matter-of-factly.

Leaves-None reluctantly speaks in that squeaky, gravelly grating voice again, tones clipped but deeply respectful. ~The honor is shared, Pierces Ice-rhya.~

Voice watches and listens to the Wendigo's words. Silently he also watches Laura attend to her. Then, he begins moving off in the direction of Vera and Clemency, slowly making his way home.


===============================================

The letter to Grey:

It's in Clemency's bag, which (if Dillen does as he's asked) is delivered to you after the battle.

Dear Thomas,

I know I said I was sorry when I heard I wasn't to fight alongside you today, but I'm afraid that was kind of a lie. I'm glad you aren't there because I have a bad feeling about this one, and if you're reading this letter, you'll know I was right to have that bad feeling, because I'll be dead. (As you know, the duty of a Silver Fang is always to be right.)

I've told Dillen to get my bag back to you if I fall. Apart from clothes and things there's only really three things I possess that are worth a damn either financially or emotionally. My mp3 player, please give to Emma. She was always trying to teach me to control myself and music was the only way that ever worked a damn. I hope she'll play some of the Chopin and Tchaikovsky sometimes. And tell her that if she doesn't make Fostern I'll fucking haunt her.

The sketchbook contains a lot of my work. If any of the garou of the sept want them, they can have them to remember me by. But I want my packmates to have first pick if there's a dispute.

Lastly, there's some photographs. Assuming there's enough left of me to bury, and assuming there's a caern left to bury me in, can you please put them in with me? I know it's a crazy psycho thing to ask but when was I ever about anything but being a crazy psycho, huh. Feel free to look at them. The photos of me in a group are my old pack. You guys might get to be as good as them one day, specially once I'm gone and no longer dragging you down. You kick ass, all of you. It was an honor.

There's also a photo of a little kid. If you're wondering, he's my son. Adam. It wasn't safe to be round him, not after what I did to his father. But, one last favor for you, if you can. Can you get word to Ruth Kye back at the One Bright Star. (Last address I had for her was 228-B Axholme Road, Bluffton, SC 29910. No idea if it's still valid. She didn't seem to want to talk to me any more after I ate my husband, with him being her brother and all.)

Can't think of much more to say, and I never was brilliant with words, so I'll leave it at that. It was a pleasure to know you and get drunk with you, Thom.

C.