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Rocky Beach(#22RJ)

This small, narrow beach of sand and rock stretches out along the
eastern shore of Lake Arthur, marking a break in the forests the
border the clear water. The sprawling boulders at the edge of the
water have a reddish tinge in the twilight just after sunset, and the
light of the moon reflects on the shimmering surface.

Just to the east, the stony ground slopes gently upward to a large
meadow; north and south of the beach, thick forest shrouds the
lakeshore in a veil of leaves and wood. The water of the lake spreads
out westward, the wooded far shore visible in the blurred distance.
The island rises from the lake almost due west of here, a rocky oasis
resting on the glassy surface.

Currently on this highly windy and cool fall twilight in the general St.
Claire area, it is 46 degrees Fahrenheit (7.8 degrees Celsius). The
wind is coming from the south-southeast at 39.6 mph. The ground is
wet. Skies are clear with a small chance of precipitation.

Dana, wrapped up securely in an SCCU athletic warm-up jacket, finally
makes her way to the edge of the lake, then peers across the water
wistfully, but also pensively, as if trying to figure something out.

Perhaps five minutes go by before Dana sees movement on the island
shoreline. It takes some time for Andrea to row across the lake, even
with the toned movements of long practice. She becomes visible long
before she approaches the shoreline. The theurge is alone in the
johnboat.

Dana shields her eyes despite the incongruity of it this close to
sunset, trying to make out who is in the boat, and fading back towards
the woods somewhat. When she recognizes Andrea, she relaxes and takes
a few paces back, waiting until the boat is close enough that she
tries to help ground it a bit awkwardly.

Mere words cannot properly describe this breathtakingly beautiful young
woman. Gold-blonde hair is pulled back into a short braid that just
covers the nape of her neck, hilited by platinum streaks from long
exposure to the summer sun, and her eyes are the pure, vivid blue of a
spring sky. Barely noticable freckles are dusted over high, angular
cheekbones, almost camoflouged by well-tanned skin. The eye travels
down the slim column of her neck to her slender, feminine body which
moves with the graceful, compact energy of a highly trained ahtlete,
well-muscled without being muscular.

She is dressed in a plain, hunter green t-shirt tucked into a pair of
jeans bleached to powder blue, and wearing a simple pair of white Nike
running shoes. While outside, she wears an SCCU warm-up jacket.
She holds herself very straight, seeming to favor one side.

Andrea smiles at the younger woman, jumping in the water to do her part.
As usual for these boating expeditions, she's changed from her leather
shoes into white canvas tennis shoes. After the boat is secure, she
pushes her hair back. "Hey. How you healing up?"

Dana's hand strays involuntarily to her left side and her wound, before
giving a brief, faint smile, and a slight shrug. "Not as quickly as
I've heard you do, but well enough. Thank you. I hope you weren't
busy?" she adds, shifting the subject.

Andrea shakes her head. "I was just waiting for my student, but he may
not come until nightfall."

Dana nods, then bites one side of her lower lip, stuffing her hands into
the pockets of the jacket. "I was hoping we could maybe talk? For a
little while," she adds hastily. "I just wanted to..." she trails off,
blinking once while swallowing, then drags in a deep, settling breath,
and biting her lower lip again before finishing. "Let you know
something's going on."

Andrea frowns slightly, but not in irritation. She answers quickly.
"Sure. You want to go back to the island? The cave's out of the wind."

Dana glances over at the island, again with that half-lost, half-wistful
expression, then nods. "Sure." Simple enough acceptance; she then
takes Andrea's instructions on getting into the boat for the crossing,
and is silent during it unless spoken to.

Andrea, busy rowing, doesn't talk much during the trip, especially when
Dana's prefernce for silence is noticed.

Cave on the Island(#2648RAJh)

The entrance to this hole in the ground shows signs of many passings,
the rough edges of the soft rock are worn away. Inside, you find a
comfortably large limestone cave. Stalactites hang from the ceiling,
but are high enough overhead so as not to wound careless foreheads.
The floor of the cave has been smoothed out, and is surprisingly
clean, indicating that the dweller herein has taken pains to make it
so. There's probably room for two or three people to sleep stretched
out. A small fire pit resides near the entrance, and the air currents
fortuitously carry any smoke out of the entrance. A couple of
stalagmites have been hewn off and now act as low tables. Whoever
lives here shows a knack for making things comfortable.(+view)

A well worn passageway leads out to the narrow hidden entrance to the
cave. It's a bit of a scramble to get out.

Andrea builds up the fire as she gestures the kin in the cave. She takes
off her wet shoes as well and places them near the flames. She moves
through the cave with the ease of long familiarity, speaking when she
goes to get dry socks and her normal shoes. "Something's bothering
you."

Dana pauses as she watches Andrea, then settles down to follow her
example and strip out of her own shoes and socks. The question causes
her to freeze in that act, and her motions slow, and she purposefully
finishes and tucks her bare feet under her legs before answering.
"Yes," she agrees, not trying to hide it. There is the sense that she
is screwing up her courage as the flames crackle in her silence,
broken with, "It's...Scott."

Andrea frowns as she turns to dig another pair of socks out and hand
them over. "Has something happened?"

Dana eyes the socks as if they are a new life form, then hesitantly
accepts them, although they fall limply to her lap along with the hand
they're in. Her features contort with a number of emotions, raw pain
predominating, before she drops her eyes towards the socks. "He broke
up with me," she says in a rough, strained voice, but surprisingly
controlled. "That's part of why I came out here."

Andrea starts a little, between the news and the howl. She says softly,
"Ouch." In a louder voice, she continues, "That's my student. Do you
want me to send him away, or is it okay if he comes over? He's our
tribe."

Dana's head jerks up at the howl, and for a moment there is a panicked
look in her eyes, one that modulates as rational thought returns,
although her breathing is slightly quickened. A hesitation, then a
slow nod. "If you want. I only had one more thing to really say."

Andrea pauses to let Dana say that one thing. In the flickering light,
her eyes seem solid black.

Dana bites her lower lip, closing her eyes and taking in another deep,
steadying breath. Opening her eyes, she looks at Andrea, one of the
rare times she may ever have. "I...Look out for him. He broke up with
me because there's something going on, in his head," she says, tapping
her temple with the first two fingers of her right hand. "He's acting
strange, having blackouts, having a hard time controlling himself.
More than normal," she amends. The calm look cracks, and her face
twists with pain which she clamps down on hard, to control. "I felt
it, somewhat, before I knew what was going on. He wouldn't let me scan
him when I did. He was afraid I'd see something I shouldn't."

Andrea's frown sharpens into a look of outright concern. "Did he say
what he was afraid of?"

Dana nods shallowly, the pain of loss held in abeyance by dogged will,
the fight for it visible. "Yes," she says, voice a trifle strained
once more. "Afraid of losing control completely and hurting me. I
found him Monday night in his room, completely covered in blood.
He'd...killed two men. He had a hard time remembering it, though.
Temporary amnesia," she says, falling back into her training.

Andrea nods. "That happens a lot, actually, when we lose control.
Especially among the human-born. Probably for much the same reasons
humans block out horrible things." She glances toward the door again,
then says, "Sit tight. You need to get to know Dusty, anyway. Don't
worry if he seems shy."

Dana begins shaking her head in slight protest, along with her tone, "I
don't think that was it..." she begins, but then trails off, mind
catching up with the rest of Andrea's words. "Dusty? I think...I
might've met him."

You say "He stays at the farmhouse, sometimes." She moves into the cave
before going out to howl, squeezing Dana's shoulder in a gentle
gesture. Her voice has lowered. "I'll check on Scott, I promise. But
at least he had the good sense to send you away, if that's what it is.
I nearly killed the man I was once married to, when we fought, because
I couldn't control my rage."

Dusty clambers through the brush and down into the cave to join you.
Dusty is audible before he is visible, the rustling of the brush outside
giving away his presence. He pauses at the entrance, peering around
carefully.

Andrea calls out. "It's okay, Dusty. We're in here."

"Um...we?" Dusty pokes his head in a bit more, and finally comes in all
the way. He stops short as he sees Dana, pausing for an uncertain
moment and then smiling. "Um...hi."

Dana has since pulled the borrowed socks on, her own damp socks and
shoes drying near Andrea's fire. She gives the teenager a slight, shy
smile of her own. "Hi. I'm glad it /is/ you."

Dusty smiles a bit shyly, unslinging the backpack he brought with him
from his shoulder and dropping it gently in a corner. He takes a seat
near the entrance with a shrug at Dana. "Well, who else would it be?"

Dana shrugs her shoulders lightly, arms wrapped around her knees
tightly, and crossed so that her hands wrap around the opposite
ankles. "Andrea just said 'Dusty', I wasn't sure if it was you or
someone else." With that simple explanation, she falls quiet and fades
herself into the background as best she can.

Andrea's look turns wry. "I get totally out of the habit of using last
names, I'm afraid. Too much time in the woods."

Dusty grins at Dana, his expression and demeanor relaxing somewhat. "I'd
ask, but somehow I don't think you'd tell me." He looks at Andrea,
then down at the stone floor of the cave. "Is anybody else going to be
coming in here tonight?"

Andrea tilts her head to one side. "Maybe my packmates. Cassandra
usually sleeps here, and Soren and Touch Deer often do."

Dusty looks down again. "Oh. Right. Um..."

Andrea's head straightens, though she still looks somewhat quizzical. "I
think Touch Deer and Cassandra are on a hunt. Soren patrols the
mainland, right now."

Dusty shrugs again. "Whatever," he murmurs quickly. "Um...there was
something else I wanted to tell you before, but I haven't been able to
find you since the moot..." He trails off, uncertainly.

Andrea nods. She says, "I'm sorry. We had a large thing of evil to put
to rest, and I was pretty much drained for a few days after that." She
glances at Dana briefly, then looks back at Dusty. "Can you tell me
now?"

Dusty shrugs, not looking up. "Well, it was just about Dante. I kinda
didn't want to say it at the Moot..."

You say "About his wanting to lead?"

Dusty shrugs, then nods an agreement. "Thing is, I dunno how good of a
leader he'd be. Hell, I dunno if I'd follow him after he walked out on
Suspects and ran off to New Mexico that one time."

Dana gets a bit more attentive, but continues to blend in the
background, not drawing attention to herself.

Andrea glances at Dana again, then looks back at Dusty. "I never heard
what happened with Dante and the rest of you. Why did he leave without
his pack?"

Dusty sighs and finally looks up. "I don't know for sure myself why. All
he told us was that he was going to New Mexico and going back home or
something like that. This was when we were getting ready to hunt down
that mage like Brian told us to. He came back with his mother, and
then told us out of nowhere that he was leaving the pack and going to
live in the city."

Andrea shakes her head. "I can't understand abandoning pack like that.
But I remember walking alone a lot, when I was young. And Dante is, no
matter what he'd like to think, still very young. And I don't mean
just his birth age."

Dusty says "Alone? The last thing I heard was that he was running with
another pack in the city."

Andrea shakes her head. "No, no, I ran alone. But if you can leave your
pack like that, and they don't even understand or know why, I'm not
sure how close you ran with them. I've not talked to Elan much about
Dante, so I don't know if he's done better with them. I hope he has."

Dusty shrugs, looking down. "I just don't know him, I guess. I just
don't want anyone leading the tribe who I don't really trust."

Andrea nods. "I can understand that. If the day comes that he does lead,
he'll have to have regained your trust first."

Dusty shrugs. "We'll see. I just kind of wanted you to know why I
hesitated about him."

Andrea nods. She says simply, "Thank you."

Dusty pulls his knees up to his chest, a bit uncomfortably, and wraps
his arms around them. "So, um..." He trails off, waiting.

You say "Dusty, do you see Scott much?"

Dusty shakes his head. "I don't see much of a lot of people. I think
I've seen him once since he got back."

Dana tenses, barely perceptible only to those who notice much, gaze
flickering between the two Gaians with a return of controlled anxiety.

Andrea nods. She glances at Dana again, before saying, "He and Dana
broke up. If you do see him and he seems to be acting oddly, come get
me. I'll be looking for him, but sometimes other paths cross more
quickly."

Dusty frowns, then shoots a glance over at Dana, obviously
uncomfortable. "Um...okay. I'll see if I can find him."

Dana's gaze drops as she senses Dusty's mood, speaking up softly. "I
don't know if he needs found or not. Just...I'm worried about him,"
she finishes almost inaudibly.

Dusty shrugs. "Well, when I talked to him after he got back, he seemed
kinda colder...but I thought that was just my imagination."

"I don't know," Dana speaks up again. "Maybe it /did/ start back then. I
didn't even really think about it..." she trails off, then considers.
"It could've."

Andrea suddenly tilts her head and frowns. She stands, looking between
the kin and galliard. "Soren's found something and wants me to come
out and look. I'll be back." She gives a slight smile, though it's
obvious she's distracted by the internal message. "Dusty, we'll go
over the song I spoke to you about when I get back. The one to awaken
willowbark to ease pain." She glances again at Dana, then back at
Dusty. "You can even play it for Dana while you wait, if you want."

Dana looks briefly pained, but then shakes her head and begins pushing
to her feet as well, taking up her shoes and socks. "I should get
going back," she apologizes. "I have class tomorrow as it is."

You say "I'll row you across, then." She turns to Dusty. "I won't be
long."

Dusty nods. "Okay." He draws a deep breath, as if calming himself.

Dana dips her head in an oblique nod of assent to Andrea, then gives
Dusty another shy smile. "It was nice to see you," she tells the boy,
before moving to duck back out of the cave.

Dusty grins, a bit shyly. "And you." He pulls himself into a sitting
position, cross-legged and not nearly so curled up.

Dana clambers out of the cave, ascending to the world above.

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