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Entry tags:
Doing a favor
It is currently 08:07 Pacific Time on Thu Jan 26 2012.
Currently the moon is in the waxing New (Ragabash) Moon phase (18% full).
Edgewood House: Meadow
A long, hard-packed dirt road winds almost a mile through the forest off Sunrise Road, eventually opening out into a small front yard, and coming to a stop in front of a large house, which may be the very definition of ramshackle. The house is not visible from the road, nor can one hear anything but perhaps a gunshot. Its foundation and general structure are solid, but its once crisp grey-and-white paint needs updating, and some of the trim is having trouble staying attached. A fixer upper, one might say. Off to the left, there's a former garage, long since converted into something of an in-law apartment. A connecting flyover attaches it to the second floor of the house.
There are no fences surrounding either the front or back yards. In the rear of the property, the yard (larger than in the front) eventually comes up against a well built garden, with the very beginnings of sprouts. Shaded and obscured by surrounding trees, there is a small (but deep) natural pond, with a chuckling brook leading out of it, into the woods. There's a rope swing hanging from one of the trees. The yard to the southeast of the property stretches on for a time, and then is eaten by woods, into which there may or may not be a path; it apparently fades away quickly. There's a certain looming feel to these woods.
Obvious exits:
Narrow Path Sunrise Road Front Door Barn/Garage
Morning over the Pacific Northwest and the sun is barely coming up over the mountains and the trees. The grey light of morning is pervading, but fading bit by bit into the cold. A scruffy, beat up red wolf sits near the bottom of the stairs of the house, laying in the meadow and quietly watching the sunset as the wind blows through her fur.
The sound of an engine breaks the silence: Shelby's car comes down the lane and parks in front of the garage, freeing the white-haired woman from its embrace. She leaves the engine ticking and heads toward the garage, a pair of jeans folded over one arm. At the last moment before reaching the door she appears to spot the wolf and turns squarely to face it.
Danger Magnet lifts her head as the car drives up, watching it and then the woman as she gets out. She yawns widely, seeming to recognize the white-haired woman. Morning. Don't like to be awake for sunrise, but enjoy the pretty when I am.
"I've already been up for hours," Shelby returns with a touch of sharpness, her eyes flicking over the other's form before returning to the wolf's face. "I don't recognize you - have we met?"
Danger Magnet returns her head to her paws. Yeap. How's the tire? Her eyes flicker to the car and then back to the woman.
The Fang's eyes narrow ever so slightly but for the most part her expression remains neutral. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to," she answers, tone polite. "How is my what?"
Danger Magnet sits up onto her haunches, fur melting away to a naked woman who's just as scarred up as the wolf. "The tire." She scrubs a hand through her hair, several tiny little braids hanging loosely around her face. "On the car."
Shelby relaxes once Rori's human face appears. "Oh, it's you. Yes, my tire's fine, thank you." She casts a critical eye toward the other's nakedness. "Pardon my bluntness, but where are your clothes? Don't you have anything Dedicated?"
"Emma?" Shelby echoes. "I've met her." 'Strider' has her cocking her head, and the further name brings no clarification. "But that's stupid, saying you have to learn from your own auspice. I learned it from a Theurge." She pauses for a moment. "Is this... 'Mourns-the-Living' a Ragabash, by chance?"
Rori gives a shake of her head. "Nah, he was helping. Was Djehuti. Said he'd teach me in three weeks if I couldn't find a teacher of my own moon, but this is kinda cold." She melts back into fur, shaking out her fur from the wet left on her skin.
Shelby continues to look unenlightened. "Djehuti," her pronunciation of his name is fairly accurate, considering, "isn't Mourns-the-Living - well, unless he's changed his name. Nor is he a Ragabash." She gives the Ahroun a one-eyed, disbelieving look and shakes her head after a moment. "You know, you /could/ ask someone who already knows the Rite to Dedicate some clothes to you now, so you aren't running around in January in your birthday suit."
Rori gives Shelby a wolfish grin. ~Zosia and Djehuti both knew it. Told me to go find someone else. If you are willing, I would be most grateful. Gets cold.~
Exasperated, Shelby thins her lips and jerks a head toward the house. "Go get some clothes and meet me in the garage." She starts to turn toward the garage then reconsiders and opens the back door of the house first. "--You can watch what I do and get at least an idea of how to do it for whenever you manage to find a teacher."
Danger Magnet gets up on four feet and pads into the house. Thanks. Don't like to make a pain of myself asking for much. She shifts again as she's back in the house, tugging on her clothes.
Shelby heads straight into the garage once the wolf's gone in, leaving the door to the Fianna to close.
Edgewood House: Garage
Rori arrives a few minutes later, not too long, pulling her hair back into a loose pony tail and then tilting her head at Shelby. "Think it's possible for one of my moon to learn how to sniff for taint, too?"
While Rori's gone Shelby's made good use of her time and cleared a space about eight feet wide on the floor. The jeans are off to one side, still folded. She looks up as Rori enters, less obviously agitated than before. "Hmm? Probably not, no. But not because you're an Ahroun. You aren't of the proper tribe for the spirits to want to teach you."
Rori nods, seeming to accept that pretty easily. "Alright, where do you want me?" She's dressed up for the cold, figuring she needs everything at this point: coat, boots, gloves.
Shelby kneels by the edge of the bare area and waves a hand at the concrete floor. "You, here. Your clothes - anything you want Dedicated - laid out here like you're wearing them." A thought strikes and she tilts an eye toward the Ahroun. "What do you have Dedicated to you already?"
Rori shakes her head. "Nothing. Though would like the mirror." She pulls a small simple mirror out of her pocket and then starts to strip and lay things out. "Just in case, ya know?"
Shelby eyes the mirror but gives a nod to the clothes. "Clothes are more important, I think. At least while it's winter. Don't have to worry about shifting then." She pulls a tiny folded blade out from under her shirt - the whole thing is about two inches long. "I'll need your blood for this."
Rori stands where she tells her to and looks down at all the scars on her body, then turns a grin on Shelby. "As you can see, I'm used to getting marked up. Do what you need to do."
With a nod for Rori and a half-smile aimed mostly at herself Shelby takes a moment to close her eyes and breathe. In those few seconds the last of the jitters drain away and she stands, unfolding the wee blade. "I'll need a hand," she says then, holding out her own.
Rori holds out her hand without question. She seems to be more than willing to trust Shelby for this, though tilts her head curiously, watching and learning.
Shelby cuts the Ahroun's palm without hesitation, and without any more warning than the blade moving. It isn't a terribly deep slice, but blood wells immediately. "As I'm doing this, you need to think about how these clothes aren't just yours, but actually a part of you." That said, she dips her fingers into the Fianna's blood and starts marking glyphs on the fabric. She chants as well, though the words are neither English nor Mother's Tongue. Something Slavic, perhaps, but they roll easily from the Ragabash's mouth.
Rori holds out her hand and then while still watching Shelby, tries to do what she's instructed. The clothes are a part of her skin. "Okay. Like my fur."
The Ragabash flicks an irritated hand at the words, but doesn't stop chanting. After several minutes - it's not quite visible when, exactly - the blood has disappeared. She straightens and cleans the blade, looking pleased. "Give them a try."
Rori clamps her mouth shut at the hand gesture and then nods and walks over to put her clothes back on. She makes sure the mirror is still tucked inside and then with a little wriggle, shifts up to crinos. FUR! Then a few seconds and she shifts back down to homid, cracking her neck.
Shelby beams and folds the knife, tucking it back into her shirt. "Good. There's always the first shift after you do this, where you're not quite sure if it will work or if there's going to be an embarrassing rip. So now you don't have to worry about going naked, and you still have that mirror for later."
Rori pats her pocket, verifying that it is still there. "Thank you. So very much. It does get cold, but after all these years, I am very used to it, I'm afraid. I have a lot to learn that I could not in my home pack. Do you know of anyone looking for members? Any pack that needs a full moon with more battle experience than brain cells, but one wanting to learn?"
"You're welcome," Shelby answers. "I'm surprised no one would at least Dedicate your clothes, even if they had their own reasons for not teaching you the Rite." The rest of her questions get a quirked eyebrow. "Maybe? What sort of pack are you looking for? I'm not in a pack at the moment, though we hope to be one soon."
Rori reaches up to scrub at her head. "One that respects differences, shares information and can .. put up with a rather um, I'm a little blunt, a lot blunt and I don't know much more than about fighting. More than willing to learn and find a place and teach anything I know, though. But I say stupid crap.. sometimes. Without, you know, meaning to be insulting."
Shelby shakes her head, though with a sympathetic smile. "No, I meant - which sort of totem do you want to follow? War, Respect, Wisdom? --Cunning?" The fourth is definitely an after thought. "City-based, or country? That sort of thing."
Rori clears her throat. "Well, I'm not best in the city. I get.. ansty. On edge. If I spend too much time in the city. Need to be able to get into the trees, sleep there most of the time. I can do war and cunning and.. something that respects the need for action. But mainly, I am worried about the wolves. We must be able to trust and deal with each other."
Shelby hmms and starts pulling the mats back into place on the floor. "There's a Raccoon pack somewhere in the city. I don't know how much time they spend out here. There's a Weasel pack too - Norman and Viv-rhya are in it. Their territory is north of Kent Crossing. Otherwise I think all the packs are Wisdome or Respect, but there have been a number forming lately, and I don't know who they all are, anymore."
Rori gives Shelby a little nod and a smile. "Thanks. I'll head into the city, talk to a few there and to the bawn, see if I can catch more. Would really like to stick around awhile I think."
"I believe Kevin of the Glass Walkers is in that Raccoon pack," Shelby says and turns to face the Fianna. "Do you know where their Tenement is? I can give him a call and let him know you're coming."
Rori nods, offering another smile. "Yeah. Javid told me where in case I had any strange dreams, he wants me to tell him. No dreams, though."
Shelby ahs? "No dreams? Remind me when you arrived in town? Just a couple weeks ago, wasn't it?"
Rori tries to think and nods slowly as she thinks. "More than that a little? But I don't think a whole month. And no dreams. Not even in the last rite. Javid was saying those present in the caern had a dream, but I wasn't there."
"But not a month," Shelby says, as if confirming something. "You weren't here for the Rite of the Winter Winds." The Ragabash nods, her attention momentarily elsewhere before returning to Rori with a quick smile. "Sorry - I don't know if you've heard about the dreams, but Kevin-rhya and I are trying to collate them. I'm specifically interested in who hasn't had any dreams."
Rori nods at Shelby. "Right. Just a few days after the Winter Winds Rite. Maybe.. a week? Javid is trying to collect that too, which dreams and what about and who has had them. He might have information that could help you."
The Ragabash looks blank. "Who's Javid?"
Rori taps her cheek thoughtfully. "Mourns-The-Living. Silent Strider Galliard."
"Mourns-the-," Shelby repeats, then stops. "Oh, you mentioned him earlier. The one who said you couldn't learn this Rite except from your Auspice." She doesn't sound particularly impressed. "Well, I'll pass along word to Kevin that there's someone else also trying to collect this information."
Rori shakes her head. "No. Mourns-The-Living helped me find someone to teach me the rite. It was Djehuti, Derek? Half moon who said I would have to find another. I don't have to follow that, I can learn from anyone who can reasonably teach me. But that was his condition to teaching me. That I should seek another first. It was.. against his way."
The Fang stares blankly at Rori for a moment before shaking her head. "Too many pronouns," she decides, and returns to her garage-tidying. "If you don't want to join an established pack, you could also ask around to start a new one. I've been away for a few months, so I don't know who all is out there."
Rori tilts her head at Shelby curiously and then steps away from the spot to help the tidying. Hard work certainly isn't something she avoids. "Are you in a pack yet? Or planning one?"
Shelby stops working and gives the Cliath a flat, disbelieving look. "Were you... not listening when I talked about that earlier?"
Rori shrugs. "I heard that you were working on it. Didn't know if you had a group together yet. Like I said, I say the wrong crap all the time, so I figure asking for more info can't be a bad thing. Should I not ask?"
"I did say 'we'," the Ragabash reminds her crisply. "As in 'we' are going to Pack." She gives Rori another quick once-over before fractionally relenting. "I can ask, but we're not looking for either War or Cunning, which is why I didn't offer, before."
Rori nods slowly, thinking. "I will sit down with someone who can help me, I think and really look into which ones will work best. I am afraid a totem of wisdom.. I'd just piss it off."
"If you want to learn more about Totems, either Norman-rhya - from Coup de Grace, the Weasel pack - or Zosia-rhya know a lot about them. Or any Theurge, of course," Shelby adds as an afterthought, "but those are the two I'd talk with. What I was always told was to find people you could pack with first, and the totem would come after."
Rori smiles just a bit at Shelby, apparently not surprised at the grumpiness. "Sure, but then you asked me first about totem, didn't you? I wasn't sure how to answer. I found a gap in my knowledge, which means I should try to fix it."
Shelby meets the Ahroun's eyes but doesn't return her smile. "I did. And then I told you to whom you should speak to remedy that. Are you all caught up on the conversation now? May we continue?"
Rori just shrugs, smile fading away. "Yeah, I heard you. Seemed like you wanted to know why I asked. Thank you for the names. I will seek them out. Thank you for your help." She gathers up a blanket, folding it quiet neatly for a battle weary ahroun and sets it quietly on a mattress before she picks up another one.
Shelby exhales loudly through her nose, the action probably quite familiar to the Ahroun as the sound of someone getting a better hold on their temper. Crisply, "You're welcome." She watches Rori for a moment before turning for the door. Over her shoulder she tosses, "Gaia watch your steps, Rori."
"Yours as well, Shelby," Rori offers, she was absolutely clear about pissing people off. Girl has an uncanny talent, it seems.
The Ragabash nods her farewell and closes the door carefully behind, either deliberately leaving or merely forgetting her jeans. A moment later a white wolf can be seen through the windows, loping toward the trees.
Currently the moon is in the waxing New (Ragabash) Moon phase (18% full).
Edgewood House: Meadow
A long, hard-packed dirt road winds almost a mile through the forest off Sunrise Road, eventually opening out into a small front yard, and coming to a stop in front of a large house, which may be the very definition of ramshackle. The house is not visible from the road, nor can one hear anything but perhaps a gunshot. Its foundation and general structure are solid, but its once crisp grey-and-white paint needs updating, and some of the trim is having trouble staying attached. A fixer upper, one might say. Off to the left, there's a former garage, long since converted into something of an in-law apartment. A connecting flyover attaches it to the second floor of the house.
There are no fences surrounding either the front or back yards. In the rear of the property, the yard (larger than in the front) eventually comes up against a well built garden, with the very beginnings of sprouts. Shaded and obscured by surrounding trees, there is a small (but deep) natural pond, with a chuckling brook leading out of it, into the woods. There's a rope swing hanging from one of the trees. The yard to the southeast of the property stretches on for a time, and then is eaten by woods, into which there may or may not be a path; it apparently fades away quickly. There's a certain looming feel to these woods.
Obvious exits:
Narrow Path Sunrise Road Front Door Barn/Garage
Morning over the Pacific Northwest and the sun is barely coming up over the mountains and the trees. The grey light of morning is pervading, but fading bit by bit into the cold. A scruffy, beat up red wolf sits near the bottom of the stairs of the house, laying in the meadow and quietly watching the sunset as the wind blows through her fur.
The sound of an engine breaks the silence: Shelby's car comes down the lane and parks in front of the garage, freeing the white-haired woman from its embrace. She leaves the engine ticking and heads toward the garage, a pair of jeans folded over one arm. At the last moment before reaching the door she appears to spot the wolf and turns squarely to face it.
Danger Magnet lifts her head as the car drives up, watching it and then the woman as she gets out. She yawns widely, seeming to recognize the white-haired woman. Morning. Don't like to be awake for sunrise, but enjoy the pretty when I am.
"I've already been up for hours," Shelby returns with a touch of sharpness, her eyes flicking over the other's form before returning to the wolf's face. "I don't recognize you - have we met?"
Danger Magnet returns her head to her paws. Yeap. How's the tire? Her eyes flicker to the car and then back to the woman.
The Fang's eyes narrow ever so slightly but for the most part her expression remains neutral. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to," she answers, tone polite. "How is my what?"
Danger Magnet sits up onto her haunches, fur melting away to a naked woman who's just as scarred up as the wolf. "The tire." She scrubs a hand through her hair, several tiny little braids hanging loosely around her face. "On the car."
Shelby relaxes once Rori's human face appears. "Oh, it's you. Yes, my tire's fine, thank you." She casts a critical eye toward the other's nakedness. "Pardon my bluntness, but where are your clothes? Don't you have anything Dedicated?"
"Emma?" Shelby echoes. "I've met her." 'Strider' has her cocking her head, and the further name brings no clarification. "But that's stupid, saying you have to learn from your own auspice. I learned it from a Theurge." She pauses for a moment. "Is this... 'Mourns-the-Living' a Ragabash, by chance?"
Rori gives a shake of her head. "Nah, he was helping. Was Djehuti. Said he'd teach me in three weeks if I couldn't find a teacher of my own moon, but this is kinda cold." She melts back into fur, shaking out her fur from the wet left on her skin.
Shelby continues to look unenlightened. "Djehuti," her pronunciation of his name is fairly accurate, considering, "isn't Mourns-the-Living - well, unless he's changed his name. Nor is he a Ragabash." She gives the Ahroun a one-eyed, disbelieving look and shakes her head after a moment. "You know, you /could/ ask someone who already knows the Rite to Dedicate some clothes to you now, so you aren't running around in January in your birthday suit."
Rori gives Shelby a wolfish grin. ~Zosia and Djehuti both knew it. Told me to go find someone else. If you are willing, I would be most grateful. Gets cold.~
Exasperated, Shelby thins her lips and jerks a head toward the house. "Go get some clothes and meet me in the garage." She starts to turn toward the garage then reconsiders and opens the back door of the house first. "--You can watch what I do and get at least an idea of how to do it for whenever you manage to find a teacher."
Danger Magnet gets up on four feet and pads into the house. Thanks. Don't like to make a pain of myself asking for much. She shifts again as she's back in the house, tugging on her clothes.
Shelby heads straight into the garage once the wolf's gone in, leaving the door to the Fianna to close.
Edgewood House: Garage
Rori arrives a few minutes later, not too long, pulling her hair back into a loose pony tail and then tilting her head at Shelby. "Think it's possible for one of my moon to learn how to sniff for taint, too?"
While Rori's gone Shelby's made good use of her time and cleared a space about eight feet wide on the floor. The jeans are off to one side, still folded. She looks up as Rori enters, less obviously agitated than before. "Hmm? Probably not, no. But not because you're an Ahroun. You aren't of the proper tribe for the spirits to want to teach you."
Rori nods, seeming to accept that pretty easily. "Alright, where do you want me?" She's dressed up for the cold, figuring she needs everything at this point: coat, boots, gloves.
Shelby kneels by the edge of the bare area and waves a hand at the concrete floor. "You, here. Your clothes - anything you want Dedicated - laid out here like you're wearing them." A thought strikes and she tilts an eye toward the Ahroun. "What do you have Dedicated to you already?"
Rori shakes her head. "Nothing. Though would like the mirror." She pulls a small simple mirror out of her pocket and then starts to strip and lay things out. "Just in case, ya know?"
Shelby eyes the mirror but gives a nod to the clothes. "Clothes are more important, I think. At least while it's winter. Don't have to worry about shifting then." She pulls a tiny folded blade out from under her shirt - the whole thing is about two inches long. "I'll need your blood for this."
Rori stands where she tells her to and looks down at all the scars on her body, then turns a grin on Shelby. "As you can see, I'm used to getting marked up. Do what you need to do."
With a nod for Rori and a half-smile aimed mostly at herself Shelby takes a moment to close her eyes and breathe. In those few seconds the last of the jitters drain away and she stands, unfolding the wee blade. "I'll need a hand," she says then, holding out her own.
Rori holds out her hand without question. She seems to be more than willing to trust Shelby for this, though tilts her head curiously, watching and learning.
Shelby cuts the Ahroun's palm without hesitation, and without any more warning than the blade moving. It isn't a terribly deep slice, but blood wells immediately. "As I'm doing this, you need to think about how these clothes aren't just yours, but actually a part of you." That said, she dips her fingers into the Fianna's blood and starts marking glyphs on the fabric. She chants as well, though the words are neither English nor Mother's Tongue. Something Slavic, perhaps, but they roll easily from the Ragabash's mouth.
Rori holds out her hand and then while still watching Shelby, tries to do what she's instructed. The clothes are a part of her skin. "Okay. Like my fur."
The Ragabash flicks an irritated hand at the words, but doesn't stop chanting. After several minutes - it's not quite visible when, exactly - the blood has disappeared. She straightens and cleans the blade, looking pleased. "Give them a try."
Rori clamps her mouth shut at the hand gesture and then nods and walks over to put her clothes back on. She makes sure the mirror is still tucked inside and then with a little wriggle, shifts up to crinos. FUR! Then a few seconds and she shifts back down to homid, cracking her neck.
Shelby beams and folds the knife, tucking it back into her shirt. "Good. There's always the first shift after you do this, where you're not quite sure if it will work or if there's going to be an embarrassing rip. So now you don't have to worry about going naked, and you still have that mirror for later."
Rori pats her pocket, verifying that it is still there. "Thank you. So very much. It does get cold, but after all these years, I am very used to it, I'm afraid. I have a lot to learn that I could not in my home pack. Do you know of anyone looking for members? Any pack that needs a full moon with more battle experience than brain cells, but one wanting to learn?"
"You're welcome," Shelby answers. "I'm surprised no one would at least Dedicate your clothes, even if they had their own reasons for not teaching you the Rite." The rest of her questions get a quirked eyebrow. "Maybe? What sort of pack are you looking for? I'm not in a pack at the moment, though we hope to be one soon."
Rori reaches up to scrub at her head. "One that respects differences, shares information and can .. put up with a rather um, I'm a little blunt, a lot blunt and I don't know much more than about fighting. More than willing to learn and find a place and teach anything I know, though. But I say stupid crap.. sometimes. Without, you know, meaning to be insulting."
Shelby shakes her head, though with a sympathetic smile. "No, I meant - which sort of totem do you want to follow? War, Respect, Wisdom? --Cunning?" The fourth is definitely an after thought. "City-based, or country? That sort of thing."
Rori clears her throat. "Well, I'm not best in the city. I get.. ansty. On edge. If I spend too much time in the city. Need to be able to get into the trees, sleep there most of the time. I can do war and cunning and.. something that respects the need for action. But mainly, I am worried about the wolves. We must be able to trust and deal with each other."
Shelby hmms and starts pulling the mats back into place on the floor. "There's a Raccoon pack somewhere in the city. I don't know how much time they spend out here. There's a Weasel pack too - Norman and Viv-rhya are in it. Their territory is north of Kent Crossing. Otherwise I think all the packs are Wisdome or Respect, but there have been a number forming lately, and I don't know who they all are, anymore."
Rori gives Shelby a little nod and a smile. "Thanks. I'll head into the city, talk to a few there and to the bawn, see if I can catch more. Would really like to stick around awhile I think."
"I believe Kevin of the Glass Walkers is in that Raccoon pack," Shelby says and turns to face the Fianna. "Do you know where their Tenement is? I can give him a call and let him know you're coming."
Rori nods, offering another smile. "Yeah. Javid told me where in case I had any strange dreams, he wants me to tell him. No dreams, though."
Shelby ahs? "No dreams? Remind me when you arrived in town? Just a couple weeks ago, wasn't it?"
Rori tries to think and nods slowly as she thinks. "More than that a little? But I don't think a whole month. And no dreams. Not even in the last rite. Javid was saying those present in the caern had a dream, but I wasn't there."
"But not a month," Shelby says, as if confirming something. "You weren't here for the Rite of the Winter Winds." The Ragabash nods, her attention momentarily elsewhere before returning to Rori with a quick smile. "Sorry - I don't know if you've heard about the dreams, but Kevin-rhya and I are trying to collate them. I'm specifically interested in who hasn't had any dreams."
Rori nods at Shelby. "Right. Just a few days after the Winter Winds Rite. Maybe.. a week? Javid is trying to collect that too, which dreams and what about and who has had them. He might have information that could help you."
The Ragabash looks blank. "Who's Javid?"
Rori taps her cheek thoughtfully. "Mourns-The-Living. Silent Strider Galliard."
"Mourns-the-," Shelby repeats, then stops. "Oh, you mentioned him earlier. The one who said you couldn't learn this Rite except from your Auspice." She doesn't sound particularly impressed. "Well, I'll pass along word to Kevin that there's someone else also trying to collect this information."
Rori shakes her head. "No. Mourns-The-Living helped me find someone to teach me the rite. It was Djehuti, Derek? Half moon who said I would have to find another. I don't have to follow that, I can learn from anyone who can reasonably teach me. But that was his condition to teaching me. That I should seek another first. It was.. against his way."
The Fang stares blankly at Rori for a moment before shaking her head. "Too many pronouns," she decides, and returns to her garage-tidying. "If you don't want to join an established pack, you could also ask around to start a new one. I've been away for a few months, so I don't know who all is out there."
Rori tilts her head at Shelby curiously and then steps away from the spot to help the tidying. Hard work certainly isn't something she avoids. "Are you in a pack yet? Or planning one?"
Shelby stops working and gives the Cliath a flat, disbelieving look. "Were you... not listening when I talked about that earlier?"
Rori shrugs. "I heard that you were working on it. Didn't know if you had a group together yet. Like I said, I say the wrong crap all the time, so I figure asking for more info can't be a bad thing. Should I not ask?"
"I did say 'we'," the Ragabash reminds her crisply. "As in 'we' are going to Pack." She gives Rori another quick once-over before fractionally relenting. "I can ask, but we're not looking for either War or Cunning, which is why I didn't offer, before."
Rori nods slowly, thinking. "I will sit down with someone who can help me, I think and really look into which ones will work best. I am afraid a totem of wisdom.. I'd just piss it off."
"If you want to learn more about Totems, either Norman-rhya - from Coup de Grace, the Weasel pack - or Zosia-rhya know a lot about them. Or any Theurge, of course," Shelby adds as an afterthought, "but those are the two I'd talk with. What I was always told was to find people you could pack with first, and the totem would come after."
Rori smiles just a bit at Shelby, apparently not surprised at the grumpiness. "Sure, but then you asked me first about totem, didn't you? I wasn't sure how to answer. I found a gap in my knowledge, which means I should try to fix it."
Shelby meets the Ahroun's eyes but doesn't return her smile. "I did. And then I told you to whom you should speak to remedy that. Are you all caught up on the conversation now? May we continue?"
Rori just shrugs, smile fading away. "Yeah, I heard you. Seemed like you wanted to know why I asked. Thank you for the names. I will seek them out. Thank you for your help." She gathers up a blanket, folding it quiet neatly for a battle weary ahroun and sets it quietly on a mattress before she picks up another one.
Shelby exhales loudly through her nose, the action probably quite familiar to the Ahroun as the sound of someone getting a better hold on their temper. Crisply, "You're welcome." She watches Rori for a moment before turning for the door. Over her shoulder she tosses, "Gaia watch your steps, Rori."
"Yours as well, Shelby," Rori offers, she was absolutely clear about pissing people off. Girl has an uncanny talent, it seems.
The Ragabash nods her farewell and closes the door carefully behind, either deliberately leaving or merely forgetting her jeans. A moment later a white wolf can be seen through the windows, loping toward the trees.