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Quiet moves into the area with her head held low, to all appearances
following someone's scent. When she gets close enough to hear the
other wolves, she lets out a short howl announcing that she comes.

Louisa remains low to the ground, her fingers brushing the earth. Her
head turns toward Quiet as she arrives. The cub flops to her rear on
the ground, smiling warmly at the newly arrived Gaian.

Hope-Star finally relents and reintroduces herself to Tron. Hope-Star,
Strider Seer and tribal guide, packed under the East Wind. You were in
man-form a few nights ago when I came out of the umbra. Then she
starts and pops up in the air, four feet leaving the earth for a
second at Quiet's howl. The little Strider seems to be in a springy
mood tonight.

Oh. Tron shifts again there, perhaps a bit uncomfortably, as his gaze
flickers over to the others for a moment or so. The wolf seems to be
occupying a pariah-position, detached and to one side of the gathering
of the others. His ears do flicker upwards as quiet howls, followed by
a somewhat more animated perking of his head, then a gentle tilt of
his muzzle. Greetings Rhya. That done, he returns his gaze to the
rest. Sorry. Do not recall...ah. Mm. All right. And yes, have met with
Iceheart, Sterling, and Falcon's Wing. It is under the first's word
that I am allowed here.

Louisa's head snaps back around at Hope-Star's response to the howl.
Then she laughs quietly. "Don't tell me gravity's forgotten you
again.."

Seeker turns to the howl and dips his muzzle politely to the newcomer.
Quiet-rhya.

Neither jackal or timber wolf, Quiet's yellow form becomes visible as
she moves toward the group. There's little of humor in her dog-dark
eyes, and much of the moon's swollen strain sits in the tension of her
movement. She greets those here that she recognizes, but stays aloof
from touching noses. Tron gets a curious glance, as the theurge does
not recognize his lupus form by sight or smell.

Hope-Star has been in Shadow too much, practicing walking sky-roads. I
need to keep my feet on solid ground. She settles down again at
Louisa's side and cocks her head at Quiet, expression sobering. What
news, Rhya?

Louisa's smile drifts as she takes in Quiet's stiff demeanor, her
shoulders dropping just a bit.

Quiet has been preparing for tomorrow night, but tonight is the night to
finish any paths begun. I need to speak with you, alpha of the Silent
Striders. Louisa's reaction causes a shiver through Quiet, as if she
restrains herself from moving. Still, she waits for Sepdet's response.

Oh. Mrf. Whatwhat? Tron seems, again, quite a bit on the confused side,
his head tilting slightly again, appearant uplift in his mood drifting
away as soon as it hit. Blinkity blink. Silver-gold eyes settle in on
Quiet again, panning through, then dilating once again. Yes, he
recognizes her, if only because, upon the last meeting, she shifted to
this form as she left. Hey, his memory's great...even _if_ he keeps
addlebrained half the time. The silver wolf flares his nostrils again,
as if, perhaps, trying to catch the wind's scent, before he simply
settles back - without a word - into the shadows of that tree again.

Louisa pushes to her feet, pausing uncertainly before walking over
toward Quiet. She doesn't touch the wolf, but she does resettle to her
knees beside her.

Hope-Star takes in a deep breath and lets it go. The simple action
brings with it a subtle change of manner, more formal and respectful
to match the Ritemistress' stance. My ears are yours, then, Rhya. She
flicks her ears to indicate she will follow Quiet's lead, if the
matter needs to be discussed privately.

Seeker chuffs. Sepdet, Quiet-rhya. May I listen?

Quiet indicates that is well. She looks at Louisa for a long moment
before turning to walk away. The curse of the transparent lupus form
is self-evident as a mixture of emotions plays through the posture she
tries to control. Pride and sorrow are the strongest in the theurge,
and finally she gives in enough to lean forward and give the cub the
barest touch with a cold, black nose. Turning then, she tells Seeker
no. Stay with Weighs-the-Way. This is a matter between myself and
Hope-Star, and should be quick resolved.

Louisa lifts a hand to touch her elder's fur gently. "Quiet-rhya.."
Worry and wonder touch her tone. A flick of her dark eyes to Hope-Star
and back to Quiet, her brow furrowing.

Seeker indicates assent and stays where he is.

Hope-Star lifts her head uncertainly at Quiet's response, a trace of
wariness creeping into her posture which is quickly banished. She
paces slowly up to the elder's side.

Quiet hesitates. Something distracts her briefly, and she looks beyond
Louisa into the reaches of air. A mother loves all her children, she
finally says crypically, then turns toward the Story Tree.

************************************

Quiet shifts once she reaches the tree, stretching up into her birth
form. She then turns to face the metis. Unusually for one of these
conferences, she does not sit.

Hope-Star hesitates for a moment before falling back onto her haunches
and into a crouch, altering to her birth-form with a pensive frown.
~What's going on, Rhya?~ she asks, tone conveying the fear that she
may have offended her elder somehow.

Andrea's manner could give that impression, though the tension in her
body doesn't seem as pointed toward the little theurge as it could be.
Andrea looks into Sepdet's bestial face for a moment, then asks
abruptly, "Do you wish Louisa to become a Strider?"

Sepdet's jaw opens a little bit in shock. ~Gaia, no!~

Andrea's eyes study Sepdet's face, then she nods once. "Different breeds
learn in different ways," she begins. "And different tribes follow
different paths. I think Louisa is suited for our path, but my
tribesmates bring me stories of your words. That you don't think that
she has learned anything, because she has not been sufficently
taught."

Sepdet's eyes flash. ~_Now_ they bring you that. I told John that before
her Rite of Passage. He assured me she was ready. She did not know her
tribe's role. I asked her what the Children of Gaia do, and she could
not tell me. I came to you later with the same concern. Now she is
starting to make progress. The last time you and I saw her, she spoke
of some of her mistakes, and it seemed to me she was starting to
understand better what her tribe does. But who am I to judge that? I
can only ask her questions for her to ponder. _She_ must find the
answers.~

Andrea's eyelids flicker. "It wasn't John," she says flatly. "And it was
not from weeks ago that you said it, according to the one that heard."
Now something of anger does tighten her shoulders. "It is not so
unusual, that a homid or lupus not totally understand her tribe in
going to her rite. Sometimes the knowledge takes time. Learning goes
on." She raises her chin now. "She must find her answers, yes. And
some of that might come if she sought out her teachers, rather than
you. But you should not call the teaching to task, unless you wish to
do it to my face."

Stormcloud enters from the forest.

Sepdet lowers her head at the rebuff. ~I am sorry. I told you my
concerns, but if I have spoken improperly, I will back off more. I was
in the habit of avoiding her before her Rite; I can do it again.~ The
Strider's face turns bitter for a second, but she reins it back in. ~I
can't lie. Yes, she turned to me before her Rite, when Nightflash and
Robert-rhya did not answer questions--she was growing discouraged, and
sought guidance from me. I did not answer her then, and I do not
answer her now. I begged John to guide her--I shouldn't have, but I
was worried. He said there was little he could do. I have given her
questions to ponder, and I _have_ told her time and again to go to
you, to Robert-rhya, to her own tribe for their answers.~ She takes
another breath. ~You have been present during two of her three
'lessons' from me: such as they are. I ask her to define her beliefs.
I tell her to compare them with those of her tribesmates. I can do
little more.~

Stormcloud wanders by while on patrol, the sound of voices nearby
however attract his attention and draws him near.

Andrea makes a slashing motion with her hand. Her intent concentration
on the conversation keeps her from noticing the Red Talon's approach.
"I am not asking you to avoid her. It is the fact that she seeks you
out that made me ask you what I did, but you said no. I don't know
what questions they won't answer, or what guidance he couldn't give. I
know what I have offered, and what she has taken, and what is still
offered. She is not yet adult, but she is no longer child for the
force-feeding. More than any tribe but yours and Chimera's children,
our cubs must find themselves. Or at least find it in themselves to
ask those that can help, if they still are unknowing." Her eyes fix on
Sepdet again. "What I do know is that people have heard you say that
her teaching is inadequate--not her learning, but her teaching. And if
someone that she loves and respects thinks so little of her tribe as
to say that in public, then I guess I can understand why she does not
turn to them in need."

Stormcloud notes a bit of tension in the air and so simply sits on his
haunches at the edge of the clearing.

Sepdet's temper finally flairs behind her eyes. ~That's just not fair! I
have spoken of this--to others of your tribe! I do not wish to
'corrupt' your cub--I know the tales told of me. I stayed away from
her during critical periods to keep my coddling her from being a
crutch against her learning to deal with her own problems. I have
watched every word I've spoken to her, lest I give her too much of
that terrible thing my pack seems to possess--whatever it is. I have
spoken nothing but my admiration of you and Robert-rhya to her. I have
set you out as her example. I have told her, every conversation we've
had that's not been more than a bump of noses, to seek out tribesmates
for guidance. Yes, she must do it herself. I _know_ that. But all the
'influence' she's had from me is telling her that she has it in her to
be a great judge of your tribe, if she only learns to follow your
path, and not Laura-Anne's.~

Andrea listens to this flood of words with her back straight. Her eyes
widen at key phrases, and her jaw tightens and loosens as she keeps
her reaction firmly under grip. When she speaks again, it is with a
seeming nonsequitor at first. "I always strive for the six-pointed
seal, and to that I nearly lost the caern. Sometimes I wish I could be
like a Silver Fang or a Get and mold her like clay. Brainwash her into
what I see she could be. But then I remember that some paths go back
before they go forward, and I can't see the end." She shakes her head
dismissively, then, then says, "Well, now you are talking to me about
her teaching, no matter how it came about. Do you have any suggestions
along with what you see is wrong?"

Sepdet chews her lip. ~But I think she's finally getting her feet
now--at least, it looked to me so, the last time I heard her speak
that night she talked of her Rite of Passage. But this is what I
thought would help, back when she was lost. I wanted her to hear from
you, and the others of your tribe, what you see as the Children of
Gaia's role here. She needed to hear examples of things the tribe has
done in the past.She needs to know of situations where you've stepped
in--or not stepped in. Things you think are most important. She's got
a backbone, and she's stubborn. She'll make up her own mind about
whether she agrees with you. But in order to make up her mind, she
needs some role models to study or walk away from.~

Andrea nods once. Her tone turns suddenly bitter as she says, "And do
you have advice for Lawrence's inability to throw off Dream, or
Dusty's leaving to find meaning in life, or Nightflash's unhappiness
at not finding a pack? Do you have a way to lighten Robert's burdens
so he can share the burden of teaching with me, or a charm for my life
so I don't have to fear for my tribe's children that I won't come
back? Do you have answers for Drew's death, and Deepsprings and James
and Nikolai and all the others?" She shakes her head. "Maybe you do.
Maybe Gaia will send me someone that does. I will tell Louisa, if she
comes, Sepdet." Andrea lowers her eyes with a tired sigh, the anger
seeming to seep out of her into the ground. "I will always do what I
can."

Sepdet drops her eyes. ~I know. I am sorry. I wanted to die in your
place once, but I didn't manage it with Thorn, and I'll probably be
looking the wrong way the next time it really matters.~ She bites her
lip. ~Andrea, I came to you about this. And you went to her. It was up
to her to ask her questions, once you did that. If she doesn't
ask--then it is her problem. That is the law with Strider cubs, too.~

Andrea shakes her head. Her voice has dropped, though the Talon at the
forest edge can probably still hear her. "I don't fear death, Sepdet.
Not like I fight against losing those I love. I just...there is no one
else to take my place." She raises her eyes again to the Strider. "You
or Joseph could take my place as ritemaster, if you had to do it. But
there is no one that can or will do what I do as Voice." She shakes
her head again. "We have lost so much to death and betrayal. These are
the end times."

Stormcloud scratches idly at some itch behind an ear, otherwise watching
silently to this 'council of elders.'

Sepdet makes a soft noise in the back of her throat. ~But when the
greater ones and the heroes fall, lesser hands strive to serve,~ she
says, quoting her Fostern challenge from so long ago. ~Don't look at
the shadows. You helped me not to, when I was bound spirit, grief, and
heart to my brother's. Just look at the road ahead, and do your
damnedest to get through it in one piece--and when it's over, you
rest. Someone else will come and do what's needed.~

Andrea's lips quirk. "Patrick would say that death isn't going to angst
about it."

Sepdet drops her eyes. ~No.~ She's too shaken still by the conversation
to manifest a ghost of humor about it.

Perhaps packing with two ragabash has sharpened Andrea's already wry and
sometimes ghoulish sense of humor. She shakes herself as if throwing
off water from her black braid, then her smile fades again. "In the
meantime. If something does happen, make sure Coda and Louisa are
taken to Western Eye. Until someone steps forward. For my peace."

Stormcloud coughs, just once, to get attention. Does anyone here need to
hit somebody?

Andrea's glance goes toward the philodox at the noise. She misses the
context of the question, but a light flush colors her cheeks and she
shifts her weight as she recognizes Stormcloud.

Sepdet's face tightens. ~I will,~ she whispers, raising her head to meet
Andrea's eyes for the first time since the conversation grew painful.
She flinches and whirls her head around at the sound, looking even
more discomfited by the sight of the large wolf.

Stormcloud looks to the two, one at a time like a tennis match. It is a
good night to sleep through exhaustion, but this one is rarely tired.

Andrea asks with a shade of uncertainty, "You need a run?"

Sepdet blinks twice, like a newly-changed homid cub who can't parse
wolf-speech yet. Her face clears a little at the mention of running,
but she seems to be chewing over thoughts now in silence.

Stormcloud snorts. We are not like the wind, Moon-Laughs-Quiet-rhya. We
are swift like a rolling boulder instead. But should you want another
to bleed, find me.

Sepdet winces faintly. ~Can't do that; we'd just have to patch it up
afterwards.~

Stormcloud rises to his feet and approaches the others. Good. We do not
wish to see you two doing that to each other.

Andrea nods at the Talon's mild rebuke with a rueful expression. The
theurge then considers something, then says, "Both of you come to the
caern when the moon is two handwidths from setting. We shouldn't fight
each other, but I need to hunt an engling." She smiles slightly.
"Stormcloud can sit on it."

Stormcloud resettles back onto his haunches. Why would this one want an
engling on my rear?

Sepdet looks up at Andrea with a little less strain in her expression.
~Sure.~
Sepdet reaches around to the back of her neck and removes her necklace,
hands jerking slightly as she sets it over her knees and fumbles with
the cord's knot.

Andrea's smile grows slightly. "I would want a Talon on its chest."

Stormcloud looks over at the Gaian quizzically. What world shaking thing
would you do with a engling that has been sat upon by a Talon?

Andrea answers simply, "After honoring it with a hunt, I would take its
gift of gnosis."

Sepdet debates between two of her little charms for a moment, poking at
the fish and the ankh. Then she takes the latter, leans forward, and
sets it on the bed of pine needles before Andrea silently.

Stormcloud blinks. Been a busy time of it lately?

Andrea just nods, then stoops down to take the ankh. She turns it over
in her fingers, then her gaze toward Sepdet softens. She unfastens the
bracelet around her wrist and slips the loop over the end, so the anhk
bumps against the heart locket when she lowers her hand. "Nothing
stands against death like eternal life. And it is good to have a
reminder of life in my mementos of death." She raises her arm to look
at the ankh again on the bracelet that Sepdet might recognize as once
belonging to White Veils. She then smiles at both, which shows more
clearly the relaxing of some of the tension in her face. "I will see
you both before dawn."

Sepdet touches her priestess' lock in her more customary salute, still
silent.

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