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Andrea is kneeling in an area she has completely cleared of grass,
digging a shallow pit with a hand shovel.
Waters contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Waters shifts into Homid form.
Waters is off gathering wood. Occasionally he comes back with it and
sets it down next to Andrea, then disappears again.
Windrunner arrives from the umbra, having decided to make the trip in
lupus. He nods quietly to those present and moves towards Andrea to
ask if she needs anything done.
Andrea looks up and notices Waters's condition. She then nods at
Windrunner and smiles ruefully, "Could you shift and take care of
Waters? There's a sweatsuit in the other bag, next to the food."
Windrunner nods.
Windrunner contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Windrunner blurs and reforms as he shifts to Homid.
Waters comes in with more wood and gives Alex a warm-if-scarred smile.
"Hello," he says in understandable English.
Drew checks that the rowboat is secured on the shore, and, lugging a
partially full, worn, backpack, leaves the boat to join the group.
Andrea then looks at Drew, "And could you put the food on the platters?
Make two with the raw meat and three with those loafs of bread? And
put a few sprigs of onions on all of them."
Andrea continues digging the hole as she instructs. It's slow going in
the hard soil.
Alex takes the sweatsuit from the bag and smiles at Waters. "Hi. It is
good to see you." He holds the cloths out to him. "These should keep
you warm."
Sepdet comes scramling out of a manzinita bush.
Waters takes the clothes and looks at them dumbly for a moment. He
glances back at Alex and gives the man a puzzled look. "Show how?"
Alex nods to Waters and helps him slip into the sweatsuit.
Drew drops his backpack onto the ground and regards the bag of food
bemusedly, then deciding to give a go, arranges the platters: three
bread, two raw meat. As he places the onions, he considers outloud,
"Don't have any onion drinks left."
Soulcatcher comes scramling out of a manzinita bush.
Soulcatcher contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Soulcatcher pauses, his form losing its continuity and twisting into
Homid form.
Sepdet slips out of the umbra with a shake of the head and peers around,
a satchel slung from her shoulder. ~Heya...oh...oh.~ She looks at Drew
rather crestfallen.
Andrea looks up, glancing between Drew with the heavy paper platters of
food and Sepdet. She shoves her bangs back from her forehead, "What's
wrong?"
Sepdet begins taking out her small effects: a few bowls, a small net bag
of red polished stones, a small iron burner, some incense, a few
bones. ~I s'pose I can manage without the beer,~ she mutters.
You sense Sepdet gives you a very faint wink.
Drew holds one green onion in one hand and glances up at the theurge's
arrival, and chews his lower lip. "Um--sorry. Would you like this?",
he holds out the raw vegetable.
Waters gests into the clothes with Alex's help, and looks much warmer.
After a few moments his teeth stop chattering.
Andrea chuckles a little and looks back down to her hole. She seems to
be coming to the end of her labors, pausing to move a particularly
stubborn rock.
Waters looked at you...
Andrea rocks back on her heels. "I guess that's deep enough." She heads
over to the rapidly-diminishing pile from Wal-Mart and Safeway,
lugging out a bag of charcoal briskets.
Sepdet selects a clear space west of the fire-pit to place the bowls,
filled with water from her canteen, set out some incense to burn, and
place the bones and teeth in her small firepot. She moves with
unhurried care. ~Anyone got something they'd like to put out for our
wolf-friend?~
Elizabeth steps forward.
Waters sits back to watch and listen.
Elizabeth looks around and helps silently where she is needed.
Western Side of Arthur's Island
Lodgepole pines surround you and stretch into the sky above. The ground
here is soft and loamy, and the air remains cool even on the hottest
summer day. Ferns and manzinata brush make walking about a little
difficult, but they add a wonderful fragrance to the air.
East of here, the cliffs that surround the island are at their lowest,
and a convenient rock ramp descends into the water. Southeast, a
granite platform extends over the southern waters of Lake Arthur. Down
under the bushes, several small animals make their homes.
Contents:
Beth
Joseph
Sepdet
Deepsprings
Alex
Waters
Drew
Obvious exits:
Toward the Promontory Up to the Granite Lookout
Alex nods quietly to Sepdet and steps forward with a small handful of
items from his pocket. It looks like a few broken pencils, some hair
and a bit of folded paper.
Andrea finishes laying the charcoal and looks back up. She says, softly,
~Waters, bring the wood to here?~
Waters nods to Andrea and rises again. He takes up an armfull of wood
and carries it over to the hole.
Andrea helps Waters, laying the wood down evenly. Beth also lends a
hand, her face showing that her thoughts are far away.
Drew fishes in his backpack, and pulls out a much-used-and-abused
spraypaint can, neon pink, and stands, awkwardly, the can in his hand,
then steps over and holds it out. "Um. I put her name on the bridge to
the city," he explains.
Sepdet takes a deep breath and steps back, eying the small diamond made
by water, two incense sticks, surrounding the small altar. She grins
at Drew and takes the can with the same quiet respect as she handled
the more traditional items, carefully setting it within the diamond
but not too close to the fire-bowl.
Alex smiles at Drew when he says that, nodding quietly.
Andrea motions Waters and Beth back. The theurge then liberally wets the
dead wood with lighter fluid. The pungent scent lightly taints the
air.
Joseph lends Waters a hand as well, carrying a few of the branches over
to where the fire is being built. That done, he walsk to the
Groundskeeper and hands her a small carved wheel of four points,
twined with red, gold, black, and white string and garnered with three
pheasant's feathers. He nods.
Sepdet whispers a soft, "Washte," to the Wendigo, then sets the small
medicine wheel carefully at the eastern corner of the diamond.
Sharp-eyed observers may notice one not very different nestled beside
the salmon and ankh at her throat. Then she digs out a small glass
flask from her bag, sets it aside, and waits for the main fire to
catch.
Andrea looks around. She then says quietly, "We Gather tonight for
Deepsprings, but this is Samhein." Andrea's eyes slide toward Waters
as she adds, "The human day to remember the dead." She then continues,
"Our tribe has lost five in the last year to the Crone: Flying Bear,
Lauren, Adam, James and Deepsprings. Who wishes to call to whom?"
Again glancing toward Waters, she says softly, "I would ask that
Waters be allowed to give Deepsprings her offering, as he knew her
best, and they were both lupus."
Waters looks confused as Andrea speaks, moreso as she focusses on him.
"Me?" he asks, pointing at his chest. He looks more than a little
nervous.
Andrea smiles gently at Waters, "I'll explain more after the choices are
made."
Waters nods silently.
Drew nods slowly, then begins, "Adam was my teacher. Lauren also taught
me a lot--but James was my friend. May I make the offering to James?"
Alex takes a breath and nods to Andrea. "I would like to make the
offering to Flying Bear."
A faint look of surprise passes over Andrea's features, quickly
supressed. She smiles again, nodding acceptance. Her eyes turn to
Drew, questioningly.
Andrea finally says, "That's fine, Drew." Beth speaks up, offering to
take Adam. The Voice finishes with, "And I will take Lauren."
Sepdet settles quietly by Joseph, crouched on her bare feet against the
cold slick needles, little more than a spirit herself in this small
gathering. She murmurs softly under her breath as she waits, the low
tinglings of a summons and invitation that feels like the smooth
drawing back of a bolt before a gate is opened.
Andrea looks around, her eyes passing over Sepdet and Joseph before she
turns her body slightly to more fully face her tribemates. "Before I
call for the spirits to grace our gathering, I will explain." She
shifts upwards easily, until her near-man shape continues the
explanation.
Andrea contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Andrea says, ~In a few minutes I will light the fire. The platters of
food are for the spirits. Take one for the dead you greet and wait in
the circle. I will tell Windrunner when to offer his, since Flying
Bear is the longest gone from us. Waters will go last, after which
Sepdet will hold her gathering.~ The theurge pauses, then says, ~You
don't have to say anything out loud to the spirit, if you don't wish
to. They'll know what you're thinking. But you can. Just say the
things that death did not allow you to say and wish them onward.
Celebrate their lives, and reassure them that you go onward without
them.~
Drew folds his hands over each other, nodding to the Voice's
explanation, then raises a hand in query.
Andrea looks from face to face, her mismatched eyes searching. She nods
to Drew.
Drew inquires a hand at the platters. "How is--what do I do with it? How
is it offered?"
Alex nods slightly in acknowledgement to Andrea and waits.
Andrea frowns a little in thought, then answers, ~You offer it in your
words. The food itself isn't as important as the fact that it is an
offering. That's why the meat, instead of bread, for the metis and
lupus.~ Her lips turn into an open grin, wry, ~Flying Bear wouldn't
have appreciated bread.~
Andrea continues, ~After the moot, we will burn the food in the fire, to
send it with the spirits.~
Drew nods, "I--oh, okay, I think I get it."
Andrea looks around. ~Are there any other questions before we begin?~
Sepdet glances up and sideways at her friend, silent now that her
preparations are done, and back at Quiet with a gentle shake of the
head.
Waters shakes his head in silence.
Drew folds his hands behind his back and shakes his head.
Alex shakes his head to Andrea.
Andrea nods, and says quietly, ~Then we begin. Please try not to talk
during the moot, other than to the spirits.~
Andrea motions everyone into a rough circle around the fire, after they
pick up the appropriate plates.
Drew stands next to Alex, balancing bread on the paper platter.
Alex does as indicated and takes a place next to Andrea in the circle.
Waters takes one of the plates of raw meat then stands on Drew's other
side.
Joseph's hands reach for a plate, take one, and then he returns to his
silent place beside the Strider.
After everyone is settled, Andrea's voice calls out to the spirits. ~We
gather tonight, for the evening of Samhein, to seek to speak to those
that have gone to the other side. Maid, come to us and aid our task!~
The moonlight, half sliding to gibbeous, seems to shimmer to Andrea's
right, over the unlit fire. A flash of a pearly horn can be seen, and
the flicker of a lace-like mane. A feeling of peace settles over the
area, adding to the solemnity.
After a silent nod in homage, Andrea continues. ~Mother, guide and
teacher, watcher of our way. Lend us your strength.~
The air over the center of the fire contorts, becoming darker. Shiny
eyes flash in a black mask, a ringed tail seems to move and is gone.
Waters' eyes widen and he looks to where he thought he caught something.
Drew clutches the bread, as he looks about the dark night at vanishing
images.
Scents seem to sharpen until they approach the strength perceived in
lupus, as Andrea allows herself a faint smile. She nods no less
respectfully, then calling, ~Crone, guide through the end of life and
beyond, holder of wisdom, part the curtain for us so that we may speak
to our brothers and sisters.~
Sepdet's eyes glitter in the face of the spirits, and she winks
grudgingly towards the flash of movement as she raises one hand to the
unicorn in respect.
Andrea's eyes slide to Sepdet for a heartbeat before she nods, again
with respect, to the spirit. Without another word, she leans down and
lights the fire with something hidden in her large hand.
Andrea steps back from the suddenly roaring fire and nods silently at
Alex.
Sepdet keeps quiet, just, but gives an almost disrespectful jerk of the
thumb--thumb's up? at the last spirit to appear. She tries to keep the
smirk off her face.
Alex steps forward slightly with the offering and looks from the fire up
into the sky. ~Flying Bear, Tonight we offer you a token of our
respect and gratitude for your life among us.~
Alex closes his eyes and appears to add something quietly before
stepping back again.
The fire flares sullenly, the shadow of a hunchbacked form coming clear
for an instant, and then spreading upward, into a huge, hulking bear.
The bear gives a silent triumphant roar, its head flung back, a roar
felt in the bones rather than the ears. It fades, leaving behind a
feeling of heartened spirits.
Drew looks about uncertainly, watching Alex, then steps forwards, hands
raising the bread high. "Here, James. It's not pizza, but it's food. I
hope you're remembering us as much as we remember you and you'll
remember us in your next life."
Drew steps back, hands lowering.
The fire murmurs, its flames reaching higher as Drew steps back. No
other responce happens. After a moment, Andrea steps forward.
Andrea looks at the fire silently. She then says, ~Dawn-Turns-Twice, I
did not know you as well as some, but I miss you. You are revenged,
and I hope your spirit rests easy, in the homeland. Take our
well-wishes, and lend us your humor when our thoughts grow heavy.~
Andrea raises the platter, then steps back. The fire crackles merrily,
almost seeming to laugh. A spark flies out and catches Drew's arm,
immediately turning grey as it leaves the fire.
Drew brushes his arm as he looks wry. "That's her."
Beth then steps forward. She says only, ~I have already sung for you,
Adam.~ As she raises the food, the fire lowers, growing a warmer,
supportive red. The unicorn horn relects a deep crimson.
Waters looks to Andrea, again uncertain.
Andrea smiles reassuringly at Waters and motions a bit, for him to move
forward.
Joseph shivers, despite the fire.
Waters steps forward with the plate of raw meat, eyes on the fire. He
says nothing for a moment, just watching the flames. Then he licks his
lips and says in broken English, "Good hunting," and steps back.
Whether that's all he could think tosay or that's all he could manage
in the language is uncertain.
Deepsprings jumps out from the fire shadows around Lacey, a flash of
green eyes barely seen, and makes a playful pounce toward Kit before
disappearing
A flash of green seen out of the corner of your eye and the barest hint
of a shape playing under the moonlight is all that can be seen. It is
gone when you look at it directly, to be replaced by a faint scent of
wolf and daisies. This too disappears as the wind picks up and swirls
around you.
Deepsprings ..into the shadows again.
Alex gasps quietly and then swallows, a smile coming to his lips, his
gaze lingering for while where Deepsprings disappeared.
Drew steps back startledly, then reaches with an arm towards the
spirit's direction. "You're really here?"
A cool breeze stirs the leaves, leaving a chill in the air.
Sepdet smiles and catches up the air with one finger, after dipping it
in her flask. Drops of oil scatter and hiss on the flames. She gestures
to Alex and waters. ~Like my little fire from the big one?~ she asks
softly.
Waters smiles but doesn't speak aloud.
Alex smiles and nods to Sepdet.
Alex picks a small stick out of the fire and lights the small firebowl
with the carried flame.
Sepdet breathes deeply. ~The sisters-who-love-you are here. The
brothers-who love you are here.~ She waits for the flammable
offerings, the bones and pencils, to catch, then says formally, ~You
have the power you need to walk free!~ Uncharacteristically, she
punctuates the words of the spell with a slow rising whoop, halfway
between a howl and a yip.
Joseph's lips pull back in a tight grin as he watches the little
Strider.
Drew soberly watches the ceremony.
Deepsprings' half-seen, transparent form seems to lose cohesion and
swirls into the wind, the scent of daisies and summer left lingering
in the fall air.
Sepdet's eyes crinkle, and she nods to Andrea. ~Heya. One crazy wolf out
and about,~ she says gently, and steps back to her place. She ggives
the spirit a toothy grin.
Andrea smiles, her pointed teeth reflecting the firelight. She then
raises her platter again, ~Take our gifts, our well-wishes, and our
love. Fare well.~ With that, she tosses her bread and onions into the
fire, paper platter and all.
Waters follows suit, tossing the bloody meat into the fire.
Drew holds up his platter of bread, watching the Voice, then imitating
her actions, stepping to the fire and disposing the bread in the fire
with some ceremony.
Alex tosses the offering to Flying Bear into the fire as well.
Elizabeth holds up the bread, gives a rather crooked smile, and tosses
it into the red flames.
Sepdet slips something that sparks green into the fire, eyes glittering.
Waters' eyes go wide as the fire goes green briefly and he stares at
Sepdet.
Alex packs a small snowball and tosses it into the fire, grinning a bit.
"One for the road packmate. Make good use of it."
Drew manages a faint smile at the sight of green, and mumbles, "Racing
stripes."
Elizabeth gives a small grin, the snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes,
as Alex throws in a snowball, but her eyes don't seem to match the
expression. "Racing Stripes..." she echoes softly.
Drew stands forth, hands in front of him, palms up, in a reaching
gesture. "You're not dead, Jumps." He repeats, "You're not dead",
then, folding his hands over his chest, continues, "You're alive as I
remember you in here. You're with James, with Maury, with Adam. I can
almost see all of you. Adam, looking stern. Maury, standing by a giant
buffalo. James, juggling at the fire. I see you, Jumps, running after
that rabbit you couldn't catch for three days running. Going into that
burning building after banes. Standing with the bone, speaking against
a whole Sept. Challenging their Alpha because he was wrong."
He stands silent a moment, brooding, then speaks again, "Some say the
last days are coming. It's called the Apocalypse. I don't know what
that'll bring. I guess I'll find out. After the death of the world,
I'll join you and tell you everything that happened, like
Moon-Laugh-Quiet's pups and Windrunner and Magpie. I just wish you
were here now to go through it with me."
Drew steps down.
Waters, getting no response from Sepdet, looks back to Drew just as he
speaks. Despite the fact that everything is said in English, he seems
to understand at least some of it.
Elizabeth's eyes follow Drew, sShe opens her mouth, then shuts it
quickly, cutting off the breath.
Sepdet gives Waters a faint smile but remains taciturn and silent, hands
hunched in her pockets now.
Andrea drops her eyes and shakes her head, indicating there is nothing
she wishes to say aloud. She shifts down to homid, ducking her face
behind its veil of curls.
Andrea contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Joseph says in a soothing voice, "In death, as in life, walk in a sacred
manner." He grins, of a sudden, "And haunt my dreams, my friend."
Alex smiles and steps forward. ~I think you pretty much know how I feel
Deepsprings, I've spent a the better part of a week talking to you
already. I want to thank you for all that you've done for us, and for
me. You taught me a lot about life. "
Andrea murmurs something very softly. Only those closest to her can her
her say, under the well-wishes of the others, "I wish I could have
saved you, tribesister."
Sepdet hooks in her pockets. ~I gave you shoes,~ she says simply, as if
this were of special significance. ~And I won't feel guilt for your
falling on a hunt against my foes--but I'll remember. So will they, by
the time we're through with them.~ Her voice takes on a hard edge
unusual for the quiet Strider before she drops her eyes. ~The rest o'
you, my friends past. You hear me talk to you enough, as I mind your
stones. I'll be back as soon as I can.~
Elizabeth hesitates for a moment or two, the shifts her mandolin into
playing position. All though the snowflakes fall on the rounded body,
she holds it loosely. "Jumps...Deepsprings. I know I hold you in my
dreams, and in my heart. Have a good trip, I'll remember a silver
rose, and battlecries of music. And your smile." She brushes the
strings, beginning to pick out a simple, very sweet melody, a lullaby.
Elizabeth raises her voice in a song of similar vein, her voice dampened
to just those close in the circle near the flames by the billows of
snow.
"Sleep, my friend, and peace attend thee,
All through the night.
May bright spirits all dance with thee,
All through the night.
Joy will come to thee, at dawning,
When a sunrise gives fair warning,
Fly, and hear no more our mourning,
Soft in the night."
Elizabeth's voice, still soft in a soprano lullaby, seems to gain just a
hint of steel as she begins the second verse. At the very end of the
verse, she stumbles a little bit as she sings,
"Dream, Deepsprings, the end of sorrow,
All through the night.
We will join you on the morrow,
All through the night.
Here a solemn bell is ringing
O'er the hills in slumber steeping,
We our lonely vigil keeping,
All through the night."
Elizabeth does not stop her strings, just leaves the last note to hang
in the air like a chime that fades away into nothingness.
Waters looks over at Elizabeth as she finishes and smiles silently to
her.
Sepdet raises her chin, leaning into the wind, and lets out a long soft
sigh of approval. She glances questioningly at the Voice.
Andrea raises her head, the tears glinting on her cheeks. She shifts
upward, giving voice to a final farewell howl, that ends strangely on
a note of joy.
Andrea contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
You shift into Crinos form.
Alias removed.
Name set.
Alias set.
Alex follows suit, his howl bright and hopeful in celebration of
Deepsprings' life.
Alex contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Alex blurs and reforms as he shifts to Crinos.
Elizabeth shifts, just for a moment, up into Glabro form to raise her
voice in a howl of of farewell.
Waters does as the others do, shifting all the way to his birth form.
Waters contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Waters shifts into Lupus form.
Sepdet contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Sepdet shifts into Crinos form.
You paged Waters with 'You are in the shreds of a suit. :)'.
Sepdet's high keening cry firms and strengthens with her throat,
drifting off after a spiderweb-thin salute to a waterfall of
coyote-yips chasing after.
Waters shakes himself out of the remains of his clothing and then adds
his voice to the others'.
Quiet looks over to Waters as she lowers her head, and her eyes crinkle,
her fur barely damp over her cheekbones.
Quiet says, ~Next time, let me dedicate it first, okay?~ Her tone is obviously
teasing.
Waters looks at Quiet and whurfs affirmatively, ducking his head.
Quiet contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
You shift into Homid form.
Andrea says, looking around, "I'm going to stay and watch the fire. If
you wish to row back, you'll have to wait, but the Umbra should still
be safe passage for now."
Windrunner nods slightly. ~I think I will go to the cliff now, there is
something I must do one last time.~
Sepdet looks wistfully at the fire, trees--even snow doesn't seem to
make her shiver tonight. ~I'll stay a bit longer, if you do not mind;
if the spirits are still keeping watch.~
Waters walks a bit away and walks around in a circle then lays down in
the snow, alone.
Elizabeth carefully sets the mandolin in its case and closes it up.
Andrea smiles a little, "I'm sure those three always do, Seppie."
Andrea nods understandingly at Alex, then says softly to Beth,
"Well-sung."
Sepdet bites her lip but nods, more subdued than she used to be, to
those who know her. Perhaps she is just standing to one side out of
respect for the tribe Gathered here.
Elizabeth brushes snow from the case and the surface of the instrument
before closing it shut. "I'll wait with you. " She sits down a little
ways away from the others. "Oh? Thanks." Her cheeks redden more. "I
was listening too much to hear." She wraps her arms around her knees
and draws down her hood.
Elizabeth looked at you...
Andrea moves to Waters's side, looking at him curiously, "You wish to be
alone?"
Waters looks up at Andrea and flicks an ear in the negative.
Andrea sits down next to the philodox then, and smiles again, at Beth.
She remains silent, letting the lingering peace of the rituals again
surround her.
Windrunner heads up to the cliff, followed a time later by the sound of
a splash.
Waters looks up at Andrea and licks her cheek. You should learn that
Rite. The Groundskeeper cannot always perform the Gathering.
Andrea nods, lacing her fingers in Waters's fur, "I know. I guess I just
hate losing people so much."
Andrea looks up and smiles a little, wryly, "Perhaps my moonsister will
teach it to me someday."
Sepdet sits down carefully, after gathering up the bowls and cooling
iron pot lest they be buried. She seems very tired, and a faint pang
twitches the corner of one mouth at Water's statement. But she
projects only a quiet patience as she leans into the fire, and answers
without looking up.
Waters looks over to Sepdet as Andrea does.
Sepdet says, ~This would be a good thing.~
Sepdet adds with faint regret, ~Striders are not always where they wish
to be, all the time.~
Waters lowers his head into Andrea's lap. No one is always where he
wishes to be, Groundskeeper.
Waters lifts his head to peer at the substance, nose twitching as he
attempts - and fails - to smell it through the plastic.
Andrea is watching the fire and fondling Waters's fur absently, paying
little attention to Sepdet's actions.
Sepdet pours a small bit out on her hand, cautioning, ~Careful. It's
copper and something odd. Makes things burn the color of Gaia.~
Waters rises to his feet and pads over to Sepdet. As the stuff enters
his nose he sneezes and backs away. What is it for?
Sepdet explains softly, ~To my people, Green is sacred. Red/Green to us
is what some human cultures think of as black and white. It
means--that which is alive.~ She nods up at the shimmering air above
the fire. ~Here, or in the True World.~
The sound of a distant splash reaches the small group suddenly and
Waters lifts his head. What was that?
Sepdet palms a faint smile as she puts her hand away. ~The Arm of the
Goddess freezing his hide, I think.~
Andrea also looks up from the fire. She chuckles at Sepdet's words and
huddles back down, snowflakes catching and melting in her black hair.
Waters accepts this and looks back at the powder. How does it turn fire
green? Fire is red.
Sepdet shakes her head. ~I don't know. I think--the sky burns white,
almost blue, you know, with lightning? Wood burns red. This powder
burns green. It is something my uncle uses. Perhaps a Glass Walker
could tell you why; I only know it works.~
Waters looks at the stuff then at the fire. Show me?
Sepdet glances at Quiet before tossing the small handfull onto the
embers. With a sizzle and a few sparks, the coating quickly begins to
add a tinge of vermillion to the flames above it.
Waters pads forward slowly, eyes locked on the strange fire.
Sepdet watches the wolf with bright eyes, seeing the light-show with
wonder augmented through his.
Sepdet pulls her knees into her chest. ~I want to tell you something,
Quiet, to pass to Thorn and Anubis, if you see them. I...I think it's
right to speak of it here, because Deepsprings helped in this, and it
would please her to know a small good which has come of this hunt.~
Waters yelps suddenly as the flames lick his face and he draws back.
Other than a few singed hairs, the wolf seems to be fine. He growls
softly. Still burns like red fire.
Sepdet blinks and puts a hand out. ~Yes. It only changes the color.~
Waters pads back to Andrea, his fascination with the green fire
evaporated.
Sepdet cranes her neck to inspect his muzzle, expression rueful.
Waters' muzzle can hardly look any worse. It doesn't appear to be burned
much at all.
Sepdet draws into herself a bit.
Waters looks at Sepdet to hear what she was going to say.
Andrea's eyes go from the green fire to Waters, brow creasing. Satisfied
he took no real hurt, she looks to Sepdet, asking gently, "What would
you share?"
Sepdet asks the theurge softly, ~Remember the bad clothes Michael had,
that you used to track the Dancers' scent? They were from someone who
we rescued earlier...a boy. He'd been in their hands a while.~
Andrea nods, waiting for Sepdet to continue.
Sepdet signs something before her face, then seems to force herself to
speak aloud. ~He was born under the Hope-star. Or...something else. I
don't know, and I must, because if I'm not Hope, then maybe he is, and
I'm Despair--~ She growls at herself. ~--But I know he is not Despair.
I need Anubis and Thorn to test him, to see that the Dancers have not
done ill to him. But he is my twin, Quiet. And he will bring hope to
the Wheel, more than I ever have.~
Waters asks if he is one of us.
Sepdet nods. ~He is my twin, in all ways,~ she says firmly. ~Perhaps
better than me, though he still bears the mark of my parents' folly.
Deepsprings was fighting Dancers who are so frightened of him they
have come here after him. So when this is all over--considering what
our enemies think of him--I believe we will be richer by one Seer at
the Wheel Renewed.~
Andrea absorbs this, her eyes resting on her fellow theurge. She answers
Waters softly, "If he is her littermate, he must be. Two garou can
only have metis, unlike a wolf's litter, which can have Garou and kin
and normal all together.~
Andrea asks, "How is it you wish him tested, exactly?"
Sepdet bites her lip. ~I've tried and tried to Cleanse what the Dancers
did to him, Quiet. He has all the rage I do not, so there is that
taint. But it...they hurt him very much. They put needles in him. My
heart and instincts believe him, trust him, but I need to have Thorn
check his taint, and Anubis check his heart, before I dare let him to
the caern. He /was/ in the Spirals' hands for a great while.~
Waters can tell you if he speaks true, Groundskeeper.
Andrea nods quietly, "I can check taint, but I am not as versed in the
gift as Thorn."
Sepdet looks hopefully at Waters. ~That would be a help. I don't even
know what to ask him, though, and I feel terrible telling him, 'I love
you, but I don't trust you.' I do, for myself. But I must think of the
caern's safety, in case Im wrong.~
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