Log edited with Logedit 2.6.6pl on Sun Sep 13 03:09:02 EDT 1998

Using configuration file /turquoise/homes/ammer/.logeditrc Editing out: arrive/left ANSI tf-messages Regexp stripping: Queue, Semaphore, ^Huh\? +Type, ^I don't see that Word-wrapping at 72, 0, 2 Statistics at end of log -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam pushes the bush out of the way slowly, heading towards the others as he's called.

Louisa is sitting with her back to a treetrunk, hands clasped around her knees and eyes dark with thought as one by one the others assemble.

Adam smiles, seeing that Louisa appears to be up and around. He reaches the others, sitting down next to his Elder.

Andrea finishes building a fire so the Garou can see each others' faces, even though at least a few stick to the lupus shape. She then rocks back on her heels and glances at Louisa. "You ready?"

Louisa lifts her gaze to Andrea, smiling slightly at her and nodding. Then, finally, she allows her gaze to travel around the fire to the others gathered.

Andrea blurs up into crinos and howls, head tipped back and eyes closed.

Nightflash whurfs softly in greeting to everyone, but especially Louisa.

From Western Side of Arthur's Island, Quiet can be heard to howl, ~(without Call of the Wyld) Children of Gaia, come! The cub known as Weighs-the-Law tells her story, to be judged for her passage to adulthood!~

Louisa's dark eyes, contrasting against her pale skin, snap back to Andrea as she shifts and howls. A hungry emotion flickers behind her eyes, too quick to observe for more than a few moments.

John makes his way through the trees from the easterly direction toward the group. He lifts a hand in greeting to the others, smiling broadly. "Evening all." He nods to Louisa. "Welcome back."

Louisa's attention slides away from Quiet finally at John's greeting. She smiles the same faint smile at him, nodding her head fractionally, then glances to Nightflash.

Adam sits, cross-legged, on the ground, looking from the fire, to Louisa, and back again.

Finds-Trouble comes out of the cave, covered in various bits of dust and debris. She must have been rolling again.

Nightflash peers at the Fury cub.

Finds-Trouble shakes herself and then looks at the group. Apparently, she can add two and two and get four, because she takes off at a lope towards the promontory. Finds-Trouble leaves the grove, heading east.

Nightflash gives himself a good shaking.

Adam turns from the fire, eyebrows raising as the Galliard Cub approaches, then leaves just as quickly.

Quiet waits for a short time to begin, letting those within the sound of her voice to have the time to come. She looks surprised when she sees the Black Fury cub, then shakes her head as the galliard runs off. ~Mark-of-Thorns must be teaching,~ she mutters.

John watches the cub depart, then seats himself next to the ahroun to listen to Louisa's tale.

Quiet shrinks back down into homid and spreads her hands. "Tonight, one of our own will tell her story, of what she found in Dream and what she did, and we will judge whether she steps from the circle of cubs and leaves the name Weighs-the-Law behind her." She turns toward Louisa again. "Tell us your story."

Louisa pushes herself up from where she was sitting at the base of a tree and moves nearer to the fire, kneeling close enough to it to be in the range of random sparks, and the fire's warmth as well. Another look to Quiet and Lou settles her hands, palm down upon her knees. She lost quite a bit of weight over the course of the Dreaming and the illness; the firelight plays at shadows over the hollows of her cheeks and neck. "You know how it began. Here. When I awoke in myself I was a villager in a simpler time. Adam and Lawrence were there." She stops and looks across the fire for a moment at Adam, the fire's flames burning in her eyes now. "I was not Garou. At least.. mostly, I was not. And the Garou of that time and place were culling the humans of my village."

Andrea settles back to hear the tale, sitting cross-legged next to Adam.

Adam nods slowly, remembering. He doesn't say anything, but lets Louisa continue.

John leans back on his elbows, eyes watching the cub casually, but attentively as he listens.

Louisa continues, her tone and words settling into the rhythm of one recounting an experience. "All I knew was a life then and there. And a family. And a love. And the Garou were coming and there was nothing at all we could do to stop them." She closes her eyes now, reaching back to the hazy dream memories. "I convinced Richard, my betrothed, to run away. To leave it all." Her eyes open suddenly, "We would not sit and wait to be killed. So we ran. And.." She shakes her head.. ".. it didn't matter. They killed Richard. Just like.." She stares hard into the fire. Her tone changes. "I had dreams of hunting and I cursed myself for them. I did not want to be what they--what those Garou were."

Adam stiffens a bit, looking at Lou with a sympathetic expression.

"They found me," Lou continues. "With Richard's body. And I cursed them. I called them minions of the Wyrm." Her lips quaver in a frozen, small smile. "They were going to kill me, but.. I understood them. So instead, they took me back to their caern. I think they were Furies." For the first time in her recounting, her gaze swings around over the Gaians present, taking in their expressions without offering any in return.

Adam nods slowly, as if confirming Louisa's thought.

"They wanted to know who I was, why I could understand them. Why I didn't try to run from them. I--I could remember who I was. I could remember this place and Quiet and Nightflash and Robert, but.." She clears her throat here and her voice grows stronger. ".. I could remember what I had once been. I didn't want to remember that, I don't think. They put me in a cavern with a pool and .. butterflies." Strange that she would recall that detail. "And the left."

Andrea concentrates. In the distance, another wolf howl answers. Andrea returns her attention to Louisa.

Louisa continues. "I told them what they did was wrong. I cursed them, and I made them angry with my accusations. They said that all humans were Gaia's enemy and I argued with them. They wouldn't listen. And neither would I. They knew I was not trying to deceive them, but .. " She shakes her head. Clearly she has gone over this again and again in her mind. "The next time they came back, it was in a group, after a kill." She takes a breath. "They did not know the litany. And again.. I told them they were cursed. That making enemies of humans was to make an enemy of Gaia herself. And that one day for this they would have to fight humans for every rock and tree. I tried to convince them to think of humans as allies, to work together. I tried to argue the killing, to see humans as a distinct part of themselves. But they would not, could not."

Adam winces a bit, remembering these Furies from his own experience.

Louisa shakes her head quietly. "Finally, when we had all had enough arguing, we questioned one another. They asked me what value humans who pollute and abuse the earth could have to Gaia. And I asked them what value any of Gaia's creatures had. I asked them what they would feel if they would be judged for the crimes of another." She shakes her head, her tone still audible, but the words are slowing. "I did not recall myself." This seems to be her conclusions. Her eyes downcast to the center of the fire, she goes quiet.

Andrea's lips thin slightly, though her eyes are sympathetic. She presses gently, "Is that when you woke up?"

Louisa nods her head, turning her gaze finally to Andrea.

Dusty climbs up the cliff, hair coming loose from its braid as if he's haad a long run.

Andrea nods. She looks around the circle. "Do any have questions for Louisa?"

Nightflash addresses Louisa. The others came to remember themselves over time. Was this not the case with you?

Louisa looks to Nightflash, then shakes her head. "After the last discussion, I woke up. Here."

Nightflash chuffs softly, considering. Why do you believe this is so?

Louisa murmurs, "I've thought about that. Since I returned. If the Rite's purpose was to look at life, creation, the Garou and their place in the world from a different perspective, then I came back when I dropped my anger and what I knew and did just that. Otherwise, if it's purpose was something other than that. I failed."

Andrea nods slightly at Dusty, who has arrived too late to hear the story. Her eyes then go to John, to see if he has a question for the philodox cub.

Dusty nods back and takes a stand at the base of a tree, arms crossed as he listens impassively.

Adam listens for a bit, as he searches inward for a question.

John scratches his chin thoughtfully, then looks toward Louisa. "Did the Furies seem inclined to listen to your arguements at all?"

Louisa looks to John. "They did. But their opinion of the place of humans didn't seem to change. I don't know if they discussed it after they left me, though."

John nods slightly. "Perhaps the right arguements at the wrong time.", he muses. He looks to the others to see if they have any questions.

Adam speaks up. "what did you tell them, specifically?"

Louisa tilts her head at Adam's question. "What do you mean?"

Adam says "You mentioned telling them about the Litany, and the modern ways. Which ones?""

Louisa replies, "I explained the Litany. I explained what the future would be if they made enemies of humans."

Adam nods, remembering the Furies again. "What did you tell them would happen?"

Louisa answers across the fire, "I told them they would have to fight for every rock and tree if they didn't make allies of humankind."

Adam nods, again, and looks around to the others.

John shakes his head slightly, indicating he has no other questions.

Andrea chews her lip thoughtfully. She asks something different as her first question. "Why do you think you were so ill, when you returned?"

Louisa thinks awhile on that, then answers, "I honestly don't know."

Andrea nods once. "You said in your story that you remembered us, but you didn't remember yourself. That maybe you didn't want to." She meet's the cub's eyes. "Can you talk about that some more?"

Louisa nods slowly, once or twice. "All I remembered at first was a lifetime of fearing and hating them. Watching them kill my family and friends. I didn't want to be one of them. When I remembered here, and knowing about Garou, being one wasn't a pleasant thought. It wasn't what I wanted to be. Not in that time."

Andrea nods again. She looks into the fire for a few moments. The only noise is the hiss of the blaze. Finally, she again looks at Louisa. "And at the beginning, you ran away. Did the humans often try that?"

Louisa shakes her head, "No. They just painted blood on their doorways and ignored the screaming."

Andrea glances beside her, to Adam.

Adam looks to the Adren, and nods.

Andrea looks back to Louisa and asks her final question. "You said you never changed their minds about the humans. Did you offer them any alternatives, or did you only say they should just stop the killing?"

Louisa listens as Andrea speaks, then replies, "Alternatives to killing humans? I suggested working together, fighting the Wyrm together. I suggested they find alternatives together instead of individually or as enemies.

Andrea nods again. Her brow still furrowed into a frown, she again lapses silent for a few breaths. Finally, she pushes to her feet. She meets Louisa's eyes as she begins to speak. "The paths of Dream are hard to read. It makes my judgement difficult. Where you have failed, you have not failed badly, but still it disturbs me. You ran, though humans normally did not, so you must have run from something within yourself. Though you remembered us, your center was not strong enough to break into knowledge--or you did not search for your center because you didn't wish to know youself. And though I can not truly fault you for not convincing the Garou of the Impergium, it remains that you did not succeed there either." The Voice frowns, her voice betraying the slightest distress. "And when you came back, you did not return to yourself even then. It's the rejection of yourself that worries me most, Louisa. It speaks of a failure of reaching adulthood. During your story, your eyes dropped as if with shame. You should be strong before us, your tribe." She glances around. "I would say that Louisa Weighs-the-Law has not yet passed and will be sent again within two moons. Are there any that disagree?"

Nightflash doesn't seem surprised by the Voice's decision. He doesn't disagree.

Adam doesn't say anything, either. Apparently, he does agree with Andrea's decision.

Louisa looks from Andrea to Nightflash, then the others. Her expression doesn't change. Louisa stands, addressing Andrea, then the others. "I thank you all for your support and wisdom. I hope that I will honor you, our tribe, and Gaia. Next time." Back to Andrea, "May I return to the caern now?"

John frowns slightly. "One could not fault her for running, given the situation. Her failure to convince the Furies is not necessarily her own fault either, given the mindset of those she was trying to convince. I am inclined, hesitantly, to say she has passed." He looks to the others, falling silent as he sees he is outvoted.

Andrea listens to John, then shakes her head. She turns toward Louisa and says, "I would rather she pass with strength, and I have confidence she can." A faint smile touches her lips as she says, "You may, Louisa." The smile fades as she adds, "I will find you as soon as I can, in the next few days."

Louisa smiles that same smile, bids farewell to her tribesmates and disappears whatever way leads the way she is going.

Adam watches Louisa go, a sad look in his eyes. "She's lost so much."

Andrea watches her go, then shakes her head with a sigh. She looks to John, then Nightflash. "Maybe she would rather be with one of you, for a while."

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