It is currently 19:36 Pacific Time on Thu May 23 2002.

Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 60 degrees
Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the
southwest at 5 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.15 and falling,
and the relative humidity is 49 percent. The dewpoint is 41 degrees
Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius.)

Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (80% full).


Harbor Park -- Fountain

Situated in the center of a large, open meadow is a clustering of six trees,
a flower bed, a few steel-and-wood benches set firmly into concrete, and a
flagstone courtyard that is dominated by a large fountain.

The fountain is a wide circular pool of water some fifty feet across and
about five feet deep in most places. The sculpture in the center is a mix of
old and new, traditional and modern: eight concrete-and-stainless-steel
slabs about six feet high are set in a rough Stonehenge-like circle around
the center of the fountain. Water flows from their tops, cascading in bright
mesmerizing sheets to the pool below. Rising above the steel circle is a
large marble statue of the Water Bearer, an androgynous figure draped in
robes of flowing water. It bears a large jug carved with various Greek
symbols, from which pours a seething torrent of water into the pool at its
feet.

Cars on the nearby street have an excellent view of the park as do any
residents of the tall buildings which line the waterfront.

The murky waters of the Columbia River flow swiftly along the east side of
the park. Bracketing the park to the west is First Street and the city of
St. Claire. Recent construction work is creating an earthen berm several
feet high all along the borders of the park in all directions.

At the foot of each pillar, lines of blue chalk mark the concrete in figures
about two feet across each. For the most part they are round, though not
necessarily circular. Lines and arrows jut from them, through them and onto
them, some radial, some not. No two are alike. Looking at a drawing for a
while is akin to looking at clouds: one begins to see shapes. A snake, a
horse, grasshopper, wheelbarrow. Nothing resolves itself fully, however.
Tossed into the fountain, at the feet of the Water Bearer, is the remains of
a piece of pool hall chalk.


Eamon is strolling towards the fountain casually.

Salem comes into view from the southern part of the park. He's certainly
_not_ strolling, and definitely doesn't look casual. Between the full moon
and the captured caern, he's a bundle of tightly-wound stress and
irritation, stalking along with hands in pockets and shoulders tense.

Yi enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.

Eamon glances over his shoulder and notices Salem. He nods to the
pissy-looking Walker.

Salem jerks his chin in a curt nod toward the Fianna, angling toward the
fountain. "Eamon," he greets, once within speaking distance. "Evening."

Eamon grins. "Hey, what's up?"

Alicia enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.

Salem gives Eamon a dour look, and then replies, with acidic humor, "My
blood pressure. Any news?"

Off a ways from the meadow, a figure drops out of the trees and crouches
into an easy three-point landing. Right hand, left knee, and her foot. The
Gnawer remains in the shadows briefly, watching the meadow occupants half
hidden behind the trunk.

Eamon glances up at the moon. "Oh yeah, no shit. None here. How 'bout you?"

Heading towards the fountain is Alicia, out on a jog through town and
possibly on the way to the Safehouse from here. Her dark eyes drift over to
catch sight of Salem and Eamon and quickly moves her direction towards them.

Salem stares at the Fianna a moment or two longer, then makes a disgruntled
'ngh' noise and turns away, moving closer toward the fountain. He catches
sight of Alicia and stands still, watching her approach.

Yi slips behind the tree some more, head bowed. When she opens her eyes
again, she looks towards the streets and nearby buildings.

Tobin enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.

Anneka enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.

Lyra enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.

Eamon rolls his eyes. "That good, huh?" He nods to Alicia.

"Hey guys, whats the haps? Two of you for the price of one." Alicia pauses
as she arrives to them, arms crossing over her chest. The weight of her body
shifts from hip to hip, dark eyes squinting a tad.

Yi continues to eavesdrop. Not exactly polite, but there's no harm done yet.
The no-moon can't hear too well what the trio is saying anyway, given her
distance to them. She withdraws further behind the large tree at the border
of the fountain meadow, even if it doesn't cover her very well. The coming
evening shadows do the rest.

The park tonight is deserted of more mundane populace, save for a crazy or
two passed out and asleep on a bench someplace. Everything is pretty quiet
and peaceful, all things considered. Without any warning whatsoever, a small
object about a foot and a half long drops, flopping, out of the sky. It
probably goes unnoticed by most, at least until it falls into the fountain's
pool.

	*SPLOOSH!*

A splash about two feet high goes up and ripples form, rolling out in
circles from the point of impact about halfway between the edge near Salem
and Eamon and the central figurepiece of the fountain.

Eamon peers at the chalk graffiti on the fountain. "The fuck?" He shrugs,
then grins at Alicia. "Hey, babe." He jumps a bit as something splashes into
the fountain. "Holy shit!"

Salem removes his hands from his pockets and folds his arms loosely across
his chest. He takes a deep breath, reaching for some semblence of calm.
"Nothing new, as far as--" The splash snaps his attention toward the found;
his arms unfold, and he takes a quick step back.

"Babe eh'?" Alicia says with a slight grin, then pauses in mid coy comeback
as the splashing grabs her attention. Curious, she peers over the edge to
look in at what fell inside.

Tobin can be dimly seen to enter the park from the the First Street
entrance, walking slowly with his hands in his pockets. He seems lost in
thought, not really noticing the others still a good distance away. The
sound of the splash is unusual enough to jar him from his thoughts though,
and he looks up towards the fountain, only now realizing that there are
several people he knows over there. He continues walking towards the
fountain and the group at a normal pace.

With the splash there's the sound of voices as well. Quiet, though the clear
tones are certainly Anneka's. She's walking alongside another girl, one hand
tucked into a pocket, the other holding a shell on a length of twine.
Surreptitious, almost, she rolls it up as soon as she sees the fountain, the
people around it. She glances at her companion, then quickens her pace.

Yi didn't need a mic to hear the splash. But the Gnawer continues to observe
from afar, even as the water drops back down from its rising. A number of
things run through her mind, before she looks up past the branches to the
sky.

Lyra had been glancing up at the moon again when she heard a splash and
surprised voices. She looks ahead at the shadows of the park, then at
Anneka, uncertain of what had just occured. Zipping up her sweatshirt, the
Gnawer cub hastens after her friend. "What's going on?"

Aubrey enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.

Eamon clenches his metal hand into a tight fist, making metallic grinding
noises. *crrkkktkt* He turns to the fountain to see what landed there, then
looks up into the sky to see where it might've come from.

"Don't know," Anneka says. "Stay close." She lets her hands swing freely at
her sides, slows her pace, then stops near the trees surrounding the
fountain. Not far off from Yi, perhaps, though she shows no sign of seeing
the Gnawer.

There's nothing obvious up in the sky. No hovering helicoptor or passing
jets. Well, one, but it's pretty far off. In the pool, with the added
ripples and the fountain's normal ripples added to the fact that it's night,
the only saving grace is the full moon that's out. It's illumination manages
to allow those near the edge to see a shape, about the size of a small cat,
zipping about through the waters. It runs straight towards the edge of the
northwest side of the pool, then re-routes its path just as it reaches the
wall. It's path suddenly diverts, paralleling the rim of the pool, circling
its way rapidly back towards the nearby garou and likely to arrive in just a
few seconds.

"Th'fuck?" Alicia takes a few steps back, one hand reaching inside her
jacket to grip her handgun. Fingers curl about the handle, eyes narrowing.

Aubrey keeps a steady pace as she jogs down First Street. Her feet are light
as her heels touch the pavement of the sidewalk along the street. Finally,
she sees Tobin in view of her some ways down the road. Her pace suddenly
quickens until she is aside her companion. "Hey," she says, somewhat out of
breath to Tobin. "What are you doing?"

Eamon looks around at the garou present. "Can anyone smell Wyrm?" He turns
back toward whatever's in the fountain before anyone answers.

Yi continues to remain hidden in the shadow, even as Anneka and Lyra
approach near her location.

Salem stands utterly still, almost poised, his good eye tracking the
movement under the water. He doesn't even shake his head in answer to
Eamon's question.

Tobin shakes his minutely at Aubrey, somehow unsurprised to find her
suddenly at his side. "Something fell into the fountain and everybody over
there is nervous," he says quietly, distracted by the scene at the fountain.
He continues walking at a normal pace towards the group at the fountain.

Lyra nods, looking around at the people gathered around the fountain,
straining to hear their conversation. She heard 'fuck', but beyond that she
couldn't make out anything truly coherent. Did someone say 'Wyrm'? It
sounded like it. Lyra brushes a wayward strand of hair out of her eyes and
glances at Anneka, waiting to see what she does.

Anneka glances towards Lyra, then back at the fountain. She tilts her head,
curious lupine.

"Nothing is out of place, I don't sense anything too strong." Alicia says as
she pulls the gun free, stepping up near Salem and Eamon. She keeps the
weapon fairly hidding still next to her body, but tensed.

The dark object cruises swiftly through the dark waters, a mere shadow
within a lighter shadow as it draws closer, closer, closer, then passes by
at what you would judge to be a pace equal to a fast jog. It continues its
circular route around the pool, moving away from the Garou now.

Aubrey slows her pace to mactch Tobin's stride. "That's odd," she say as
they both arrive on the scene. She brushes her bangs from her eyes as she
moves them behind her ear. "This doesn't feel right either." It doesn't take
any special gifts to know it when Aubrey sees the tention on the other's
faces.

From afar, Tskilegwa peeks at +sheet. Ok. You just see a darkish oscilating
shape pass by without details.

Eamon tenses, then peers at the thing in the water. "What the..." He follows
it around to wherever it's going. "It's some kinda fish, I think."

"Careful, could be the kind with lasers attached to its head like in Austin
Powers." Alicia says to the Fianna as she moves about the other side, this
time sliding her gun out some. "Who'd be tossing fish in from that height?
And how the hell could it live?"

The sandy-haired kid draws a step closer to the pool, sets herself slightly
ahead of the cub. Her brow furrows as she catches sight of the chalk
patterns radiating out from the fountain, though her eyes turn back to the
pool. "It's prob'ly not a normal fish," Anneka opines.

Salem flicks a quick, sharp glance skyward, then eyeballs the fountain's
newly inhabited waters again, lips drawn into a tight grimace. Hands opening
and closing into fists, he watches for another moment, then takes a single
step closer, to get a better look.

Tobin frowns and quickens his step just a bit, passing by the outer ring of
trees. He slows as he approaches the group and calls out softly. "Good
evening," he says with nods to various and sundry. "Is this a relaxing
evening of fountain-gazing?"

The so-called-fish swims out of sight behind the central statue, then
re-emerges on the other side as it once again begins approaching the cluster
of Garou near the fountain's edge.

"I'd start getting back a bit if I was all o' ya'll." Alicia says, furrowing
her brows. "Perhaps one of two should scan the near by area, see what the
hell threw it in there. Cuz' Ah'm sure we're being watched from afar. It
came outta th'sky, perhaps one of deh' roof tops."

Eamon snickers at Alicia and does a spot-on impression of Dr. Evil:
"Frickin' lasers!" He watches the fish or whatever it is. "I'm gonna check
the umbra. I'll be right back." He looks around to make sure no one's
watching, then walks over to the water and begins to step across.

Anyone who did see Yi before, or noticed her presence, notices now that
she's gone from her spot behind the tree.

Lyra half turns, looking behind them at the line of trees. A sound? She
turns around and peers at the fountain. A fish in the fountain? Had to be a
big fish, to splash around like that. "Maybe it's a koi," she murmurs
softly. "A really, buggerishly big koi." She shifts to the side a little,
trying to see who exactly was gathered around the fountain. Somebody sounded
like Tobin, and now somebody said 'Umbra'. With wide eyes, Lyra watches the
dark object ripple through the water.

Salem steps back again, and starts circling around the fountain, stalking in
a wide arc, too tense to remain still and highly wary. If he had hackles,
they'd be lifted.

Aubrey looks over to Tobin. One of her arms crossing against her chest as
she seems to wear more of a concerned look in her face other than her
companion. "Perhaps we'd ought to just stop here and wait to see what
happens?" she suggests to him.

Tobin watches Eamon keenly as he hears of the elder Fianna's intent. "If he
doesn't come back soon and nothing happens here, we'll follow Eamon." He
still speaks quietly, but pitches his voice so that those listening might
hear of his own intent and thus keep informed.

Anneka steps out along the blue chalk lines, right at the edge of the
courtyard. She stuffs her hands on her pockets, then stands on her toes,
gives herself a few more inches to catch a glimpse of what's in the pool and
catching attention. Still more curious than anything else.

As the fish begins returning towards the garou, about 10 feet away from the
closest one, it suddenly darts forward and leaps up out of the water, over
the rim of the fountain, and vanishes into thin air. A spray of water drops
splash over the rim of the fountain and onto the ground nearby, directly
below where the wet fish had jumped out of the water and pool, defying all
logic.

Stepping back quickly, Alicia holds her breath, then starts to look around.
"I think someone should drag Eamon back, did that fish just sidestep into
the Umbra?"

Anneka grins, small at first then quick and bright. Neat. She looks to
Alicia. "I can go."

Eamon looks up as the fish disappears, interrupting his crossing over to the
Umbra. "Yeah, I think it was a spirit. I'll check it out. Anybody else
coming with me?"

Tobin immediately steps forward. "We will."

Aubrey nods her head in reply to Tobin as she couches on her knees as she
watches ahead of her. The Fianna is observing quietly as she looks across to
Eamon. Then she stands as Tobin immediately steps forward.

Lyra stifles a squeak of surprise as the fishthingy sails through the air
and just- vanishes. "A really buggerishly scary koi," she mutters. She
hurries down to Anneka, stands beside her. Now Lyra can see everyone, and
she relaxes a bit at the familiar faces. "What's happening?" she says
softly.

Matt enters the glade in the middle of the open meadow.

Salem comes back around the fountain, his face tight. He gives Anneka and
the others a look, then nods to Eamon. "Fine." He sounds irritated, as
though the fish had come personally to ruin his evening.

"I think you all should be careful, should cubs be going with you in case
this is dangerous? Its all fucking weird, Eamon." Alicia says, frowning,
steadfast. Her eyes glances over to Salem, then back to the others. "I'm
ready to go as well, but I think caution should be applied."

"'Licia's right. Should send scouts over first," Anneka says. She glances
back to Lyra, draws a bit closer to the cub.

"It is the elders' decision," Yi says quietly after stepping out of the
treeline and approaching the group. "But cubs need to be protected on this
side as well."

Eamon nods. "Cubs stay here. And stay back from the fountain. Alicia, Salem,
Anneka come with me. Everybody else stay here." He notices Yi. "Yi, if you
see anything else weird on this side, come over and tell us. I'll come back
and tell you if we need help over there. Okay?"

Tobin takes a few steps closer to the others and clears his throat as if
making an announcement. "Aubrey, Cameron, and I are on our Rite of Passage,"
he says, apparently making an announcement after all. "Cameron isn't with us
at the moment, but we can act without him. We've been given leave to do what
we need to do to prove ourselves."

"And getting killed isn't one of those ways to prove yourself. In a time of
war such as this, we need to keep you guys alive. You are the future
afterall. Lets make sure you -have- one eh'?" Alicia twirls the gun about in
her hand, then sheathes it back into her jacket. "For all you know, we cross
the side and whoops, nexus crawlers who haven't ate in two months are
waiting for us. This may be a trap. Too damn conveinent if its a spirit
fish, you'd think it'd fucking say Hi or something."

Matt comes to the fountain from the west, still marked in blue like
something out of Braveheart IV: Wallace takes Manhattan. His baseball bat
now has a nifty leather sling, riding comfortably on his back. The handle
juts over his left shoulder like a katana.

Tobin quashes a look of frustration and replaces it with one of
carefully-schooled patience. "Of course, Rhya," he says in serene tone. "But
if there's battle and we can help, we need not be sent away." Perfectly
reasonable.

Anneka looks to Lyra, says something quick and quiet, then wriggles out of
her coat and passes it to the cub. "It's got a lotta stuff I can't take
over," she says, quiet. Then she steps towards Eamon, stops near him.

Aubrey doesn't see why they should have to say anything at all. "We're
Theurge," she mutters, "not Ahrouns, for Pete's sake." Although, Bree
quickly zips her lip as she listens to Alicia. "Christ, what are we supposed
to do then? Just sit here?" There is nothing happening right exactly at this
moment.

Despite the plain ol' weirdness of the situation (but really, what was weird
anymore?), Lyra had looked excited at the idea of going into the Umbra. She
takes the coat, and nods, touching Anneka's elbow gently. "Be okay," the cub
says simply, worry in her hazel eyes. Then she smiles. "And promise to tell
me all about it when you come back."

Eamon says "All right, but we need to find out what the situation is. Nobody
does anything until then. Got it?"

Yi grumbles irritatedly, before glancing over the Eamon and nodding once.
The Gnawer moves over to the edge of the fountain, waiting expectantly.

Salem cracks his knuckles. While the others have their debate, the Glass
Walker takes deep breaths, readying himself for the trip through the
Gauntlet.

Alicia shrugs out of her jacket and lets it drop to the ground.
Unshouldering the straps to her guns, she holds it out to Yi. "Here, this
stuff won't pass over with me. Use it to defend yer'self I guess if you
gotta. Anything to stay low key. No need to rip up the veil if not needed.
If one of us ends up crawling through the otherside looking like a piece of
meat, you guys book it homeward bound, k'? Safehouse." And with that, the
rambling Galliard steps up to Salem's side, preparing herself.

Eamon turns to the fountain and starts to pass to the Umbra, gazing at his
reflection in the water.

Tobin nods at Eamon, calm and serene. Patient. He watches, and waits.

Yi glances up at the moon once, before taking the items from Alicia
wordlessly and concealing the gunstraps in her jacket.

Anneka springs a bit on the balls of her feet, her skinny arms standing out
for being, well, uncovered at the moment. She glances about her, the
courtyard, the park, the dark beyond, then looks to the water as well, and
starts to reach over.

Eamon's eyes stop contemplatively on his reflection. Eamon seems to shimmer
momentarily, and then vanishes.

Alicia does as well, staring into the watery depths and passing through,
concentrating. Alicia's eyes stop contemplatively on her reflection. Alicia
seems to shimmer momentarily, and then vanishes.

Anneka's eyes stop contemplatively on her reflection. Anneka seems to
shimmer momentarily, and then vanishes.

Salem's eyes stop contemplatively on his reflection. A ripple of Umbral wind
swirls about you, and the Gauntlet parts. Salem seems to shimmer
momentarily, and then vanishes.


Umbra: Harbor Park

The Umbral ground beneath your feet here is lush with vegetation, an oasis
of life amidst the concrete and webbing of the scab. Trees stand proud and
tall here, their branches full of leaves. Shrubs line the outer edges of the
park, tangled with encroaching webs. The fountain stands out boldly from
even the surrounding area, the sleek lines sharper and more pronounced.
Clean pure water roars and cascades from the figure in the fountain's
center, falling into a cold clear pool that looks quite inviting. Spreading
out from the fountain, the rest of the park is a green veldt that seems to
radiate life and strength. The river banks the east shore of the park,
bridged by a massive rusty bridge. On this shore, the glade seems to have
spread out on to it, vines winding around the supports. Further across the
river, the bridge melds into the scab again, flaked with rust and covered in
webs. The river itself is clean within a few feet of the shore, but black
ooze seems to encroach menacingly from the murk of the rest of the river.

A walkway leads out of the Glade-like atmosphere of the park from just north
of the fountain. Eastward, the dark span of the bridge stretches over the
vile river. Dark streets lead west and southwest into the blighted Umbra of
the city.


Eamon tenses as he arrives in the Shadow, readying himself for whatever
might be waiting for them on the other side. He scans the area carefully,
looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Right behind Eamon is the Gaian, eyes narrowing glancing about the Umbra
terrain. Once again she starts to sniff, reaching out with her sixth sense,
scanning for the dark father.

As you step through into the umbra, you're immediately jostled by a spirit
darting by. Simply put, there are *tons* of spirits in the park's umbra
right now, clustered heavily around the central portion of the glade.
Fortunately for you, they're not of the Wyrm or Weaver variety. The fish--at
least it's probably the fish--that was in the pool earlier is run off by a
larger Wyldling, who quickly returns to the mass nearish the center of the
glade. The fish circles about waiting for its turn to get in close, like
many, many other spirits seem to be doing. Most all of the spirits look like
they've been through hell and back. A few of the stronger and more noble
spirits are acting as guards around the edges of the glade's perimeter.
Anyone who has watched a nature show about sharks could probably draw a
quick parallel between the spirits' behavior and a feeding frenzy of sorts.
Occasional brief skirmishes break out as one spirit decides it doesn't like
another spirit cutting in on its turf.

The sandy-haired kid trails along after the others, drifting like leaves in
their wake. She's caught up immediately in the riot of spirits filling the
glade, her eyes bright and wide. Her form blurs, glabro coming quick to her,
her hair trails about her face in a tangled mane.

Salem pushes his way through the Gauntlet with an effort, a scowl twisting
his lips, but at the first sight of what awaits them in the Shadow, he
seems, for a moment, to forget about being pissy and is simply astonished.
"Good god."

Eamon whoahs as several spirits whoosh past him. "Holy crap!" He stares,
slack-jawed, at the scene for a moment. "Maybe they fled the caern and came
here."

"Fucking looks like it. What do we do? Break it up and run the risk of
getting ourselves ate?" Alicia narrows her brows a bit and crosses her arms,
glancing over to Salem, then back to Eamon.

Anneka blinks twice. "Wow," she says. She wavers where she stands, then
shakes her head and stuffs her hands in her pockets. "Some of them look
hurt," she murmurs. "There's somethin' in the middle?"

Salem turns to Alicia. "Break it up?" He scowls at her. "Where the fuck
_else_ are they supposed to go?"

Eamon says "Well, I think this is a place of power. A weak one, not nearly
as strong as the caern. Maybe they're tryin' to heal themselves by drawin'
power from it. I dunno, we need a crescent-moon to speak to the spirits and
see what the fuck is goin' on. Let's go back across.""

"I'm with you on that one." Alicia says, glancing over to Eamon as she blows
out a breath. "This is more along Sepdet's thang, the dark and mysterious
shit."

Anneka nods twice, firmly. "Tobin," she says.

Salem snorts. "Mysterious, hell. The park's become a refugee camp." He turns
his eye toward the chaos, studying it.

The arrival of the Garou doesn't go without notice. In just a few seconds,
various spirits from the outer edges move in, looking for attention and
quizzically watching what the Garou are up to. Coyotes, racoons, magpies,
seagulls, salmon swimming in mid air, cockroaches, rats, a unicorn, even a
bear and wolverine are the first to approach the four Garou. A few of them
begin talking in spiritual babblings, indecipherable by those currently
present.

Eamon says "Alright, we need a theurge. Let's get back."

"No argument here." Alicia says, glancing back and forth between the
spirits, letting out a breath. "Hey guys, you stay right here and we'll be
back with a universal good guy translator, alright? Ok..Be right back." With
that, she glances back to the pool of water, getting ready to go.

Eamon's eyes stop contemplatively on his reflection. Alicia's eyes stop
contemplatively on her reflection.

Anneka nods again, though her attention remains on the spirits, the ones
gathering close, the ones filling the park. She blinks at the unicorn, her
eyes turning with some effort to the rats and raccoons. Familiar spirits.
"Hey-- " she says, soft, almost a whisper. "We're gonna be right back,
okay?"

"I'll stay here," says the Glass Walker, hardly diverting his attention from
the mingling array of spirits. Salem seems more balanced, now that it seems
obvious what's going on, and though still moon-tense, he looks less likely
to burst into violence than he did five minutes ago.

Anneka's words are met with looks of encouragement, but no particular
comprehension. A rat spirit sits on her foot and looks up expectantly.

The sandy-haired kid looks down at the rat, quirks a corner of her mouth up
in a lopsided smile, then lowers a hand so the spirit can scale her arm to
her shoulder, if it wishes. She glances at Salem, then back at the small
creature.

Salem spares the Bone Gnawer and the rat barely a glance. His interest is
more on the cockroaches. Unsurprising, that, though he does also give the
wolverine a brief, almost thoughtful look.

The rat does indeed scamper up the Gnawer's arm and perches on her shoulder,
playing with her hair. Until a crow spirit blindsides it from behind,
knocking it off and perching there instead with a loud "CAW!" A few of the
cockroaches tentatively approach Salem, and the wolverine takes interest as
well, snapping and snarling as a unicorn draws too near. All in all, the
spirits seem all but starved for attention. Or something else.

"Been a long time since I've done this," mutters the Glass Walker. He gives
the wolverine another glance, and then goes down on one knee to extend a
hand toward the nearest cockroach. "The glade can't feed them all," he adds,
tilting a look up toward Anneka. "At least, I'd be shocked if it could."

Anneka starts as the rat is knocked from her shoulder, turns her head quick
to look at the crow. She blinks, then looks about at the ground for the rat.
"Hey--," she says, quiet, then louder, "I've never seen this many spirits in
one place. They've gotta be crowded up."

Yi appears in a swirl of wind and light.

Salem grunts an affirmative; he's too busy concentrating to speak further.
No great expert in the spirit world is he, but one doesn't have to be a
crescent moon to feed a portion of one's essence to a hungry cockroach
spirit.

Eamon appears in a swirl of wind and light.

Alicia appears in a swirl of wind and light.

Yi steps through in a swirling haze of light. Or rather, stumbles through as
she just gets hazed by some fly-by spirit. Once across, she gazes around and
just stands stock still, fists clenched, expecting the worst. But instead,
gets a -very- different view of what she thought was going on here.

The cockroach greedily accepts the Walker's donation, suddenly growing
blacker, smoother, and better off than it was before. The other spirits,
sensing handouts, begin clustering closer towards Salem. Not attacking, but
certainly pressing and eager for more.

Tobin appears in a swirl of wind and light.

Aubrey appears in a swirl of wind and light.

Anneka glances towards the Walker, in the midst of looking for the rat. She
cants her head, looks around at the spirits gathered about and takes a
breath. "'kay." She slips, slow and careful towards the ones that look the
worst off.

Tobin blinks and shakes his head, taken aback by the sheer proliferation of
spirits here. Carefully he steps towards the other Garou and says
wonderingly, "I haven't seen this many spirits in one place since the 16th
century." He gazes about at all of them, trying to get a good look at each
one and failing.

Eamon notices what Salem's doing and chuckles. "Heh, you read my mind,
Jack." He waves Aubrey and Tobin over. "See if you can try to talk to them,
or get them to teach you how to talk to them, or whatever."

Yi narrows her eyes, ducking another bird-spirit sort as it darts over her
head. "I could talk to them, Eamon-rhya," she offers lowly while watching a
fight break out between a raccoon and the bird that flew over her head.

Aubrey gasps at the site as they cross over. Her face pales as she sees all
the spirits all compacted into one spot. "What...what are they all doing
here?" she shutters in question. The Fianna seems to be in admiration as she
watches the spirits glide above and around her. She realizes that she could
probably approach one and try asking herself.

Salem's lips peel involuntarily back away from his teeth as the spirits
jostle him, nearly knocking him onto his ass. "I'm not the only Garou here,"
he remarks, whether they understand him or not.

Eamon blinks at Yi. "Really? Okay, good. Can you ask them what they're doing
here? Everybody else, lend the weaker ones some spirit energy, looks like
they need it. I think they're refugees from the caern." He walks over to a
stag-spirit and offers up some gnosis to it.

Heading towards the unicorn, Alicia murmurs quietly to the creature,
reaching out with her hands slowly. "Hey there pretty one." Squinting her
eyes, she looks about. "Matt not coming?"

Yi almost loses her footing when what appears to be some lune or other
pushes past in a hurry on its way to Salem. But she twists her body in time
to crouch down. With a shake of her head, she waits for an opening by the
fountain, then gets up upon it and grows. Shifting, up to the form that she
has been feeling all day and night tonight, the crinos form. And looking
amongst the crowding spirits, she closes her eyes in a quiet plea to Salmon
for some help out here with communication. Gaia, please. *QUIET!* she
finally howls out, large clawed fist clenched hard with restrained
irritation.

Yi contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Yi shifts into Crinos form.

Tobin nods at Eamon and looks around for some beleugered spirit to assist.
Getting an idea, he starts scanning the bunch to see if there are any falcon
or merlin spirits present. He lifts his hand up high, forming glowing blue
ball of spirit-energy in his upward-held palm.

Eamon is immediately mobbed by a bunch of other spirits. "Hey, watch it!" He
throws up his arms around his head. "I don't have much, I need some to get
back across!"

"Well, that will work just fine." Aubrey says in a light murmur as Yi seems
to call out to all the spirits around them to pipe-up. The Fianna seems to
be taking the same course as Tobin as she scouts for a falcon or merlin, the
least being a stag-spirit. The girl doesn't offer her Gnosis right away as
she first looks for a spirit who is willing to comunicate, a nice bargain of
sorts.

The crow jogs up and down as Anneka drifts nearer to the center of the
gathering, drops down to her knees when she finds a raccoon curled up, not
far from the umbral fountain. She looks over to Yi at the call, then turns
her eyes back to the wounded creature. After a moment she shuts them
tightly, holds her hands out to rest them on the spirit, push part of her
own essence through them to it.

Almost all of the spirits look battle worn in one way or another, though
some are certainly worse off than others. The central area of the glade
holds mostly the larger spirits and several spirits of war--those able to
fend off others. The smaller wounded spirits seem to radiate out from there.
Survival of the fittest apparently applies to spirits, too. Yi's words go
largely unheeded except by a few spirits around her, though a few others
pause before resuming their spirity activities. Salem's prone is scuttled
over by a few large cockroaches. Eamon, after feeding the stag spirit,
immediately draws about 10 more spirits to him. Tobin's offering is snatched
up quickly by a nearby crow and a crowd begins to form around him, including
the fish from the fountain earlier, swimming through the very air. Several
rat spirits begin swarming at Yi's feet. One of the cockroaches that used
Salem as a footpath runs over and begins climbing Aubrey.

Three-Blades stares down towards the Garou around here, and barks out a
command. ~Don't give them -anything-. Stop, all of you. Right now.~ After a
pause, she adds, ~Until I find out what's going on.~

"I can see a riot about to happen guys." Alicia calls to the others as she
steps back from the spirits a bit, glancing over towards Yi. "Three-Blades,
if you got something to tell 'em, better get their attention fast."

Tobin actually laughs at all the attention and grins when he notices what
Aubrey's doing. "Alright, alright. I've got just a bit more, and I'll gi--"
he breaks off in the middle of bargaining at Yi's command and nods at the
Gnawer. He tucks his hands under his arms and he scowls at the spirits
crowding around him. "Hush," he says in what he hopes is a commanding tone.
"Behave."

Salem stifles a growl and, with some effort and a little judicious use of
rage, regains his feet. He lets the cockroachs crawl over him as they will.
He gives the commanding Bone Gnawer a bit of a narrow-eyed look.

Aubrey wiggles her toes as the cockroach begins to run up her leg. "Salem, I
believe I have found a friend of yours." Her ginger-eyes blink at the small
cockroach. Her head cants lightly, "You have something to share?" she asks,
giving a light curious look.

Almost as if in response to Tobin's command, the fish swimming in the air
near his head suddenly darts into his right ear and pops out the other side.

Anneka draws herself up with some effort, moreso for the spirits gathering
around her, crosses her arms about her middle and looks to Three-Blades. She
blinks, shakes her head sharp, and looks back to the huge menagerie of
spirits. She stuffs her hands in her pockets and takes a sharp breath.

Eamon doesn't have much gnosis to begin with, so he just sits there for the
time being. A chipmunk spirit tries to climb up his pantleg. "Hey, shoo,
shoo!" He shakes his foot and manages to dislodge it, grumbling.

All right, well... this is hardly going to work given the Gnawer's rather
irritable state. She's not in a mood for niceties. *I want Silence, and all
of you spirits aren't going to get anything more from us until you shut up!*
More barking, growling, and howling from the ragabash on edge. The rat
spirits crowding around her are ignored for now as she waits on wit's end
for some sensibility.

"You know -- I wouldn't piss 'em off if I was you, Yi." The Gaian murmurs as
she slides her hands deep into her pockets, backing up a bit and behind the
Crinos.

Yi's attempt to bring order to a horde of Wyld spirits works about as
effectively as attempting to herd cats on speed. Though the spirits
immediately around her, for the most part, have placed their undivided
attention on her--except to whack a nearby spirit that someone feels is
encroaching on their potential fopr a handout. The cockroack only goes about
halfway up Audrey's leg before it dives under her skin, rippling under her
flesh, and then disappearing into her body completely.

Tobin shudders and gets an odd twisted expression on his face, one eye
squinted and the other wide open as a fish swims through his head. He
twitches, shakes his head a few times and blinks as... "Ahhh. Ah-hahhh,
yeeeesss," he says quietly, a broad grin slowly spreading on his face. "That
was exactly what I needed." He gives a bow to the fish, at least he thinks
that's the one, saying as he straightens, "Thank you my friend."

Salem calls over toward the Bone Gnawer. "This calls for a more experienced
theurge," he says, authoritively. "Andrea or Sepdet." He gives the chaos a
glance. "Something tells me that little is going to be accomplished here
tonight, with who we have right here and now."

"They can't stay here," Anneka says. "Not all of them. We hafta find some
place for them 'til--" She blinks once and looks to where the strongest
spirits have gathered.

Three-Blades shakes her head. Ok, this isn't going to work, but at least she
has a mild crowd. ~You guys, come closer to me a moment.~ She crooks at claw
at Tobin. ~Tobin, you and Aubrey are both theurges. Come here and try to
look like you have some control of the ones around here.~ The ragabash
clears her throat again, and then looks through the spirit crowd. She picks
out the most authoritative looking of the rat spirits that she does have
attention for, and calls out to it. *Spirit! Yes, I'd like you to speak. Can
you tell me what's going on here?*

Eamon nods at Salem. "Well, we can get other garou to come here and help
them. Alicia, can you spread the word about the spirits here?"

Tobin edges through the crowd of spirits over towards Yi and gets up on the
edge of the fountain. He schools his features to look authoritative. He eyes
the stronger spirits in the center of the fountain, looking for one that
might be willing to talk. He watches Yi's attempt at communication with the
Rat spirit and keeps listening to the hubbub of the spirits.

Aubrey gives a light yelp as her leg feels like something bit into it as the
cockroach disappears, but the feeling vanishes. It takes her a moment to
finally realize what had happened to her. The young woman looks across to
Yi, her eyes blinking as if coming out of a light daze. A quiet murmur of
thanks is also given to the cockroach spirit. She moves closer to the Gnawer
Ragabash, "Huh?"

Yi's query is answered quickly, particularly by the spirits clustered around
her. "Need food!" seems to be the common theme behind the choir of voices
that responds.

Three-Blades immediately queries back, *What happened? Why are all the
spirits gathered here?*

Anneka slips through the spirits gathered near the fountain, though she
can't help but gather some of the rat spirits to her, lets them clamber up
onto her shoulders with her arms as roads. She holds tight to her gnosis,
but she doesn't like the idea of them getting trod underfoot by sterner
spirits. She looks to Yi, the crescent moons near her.

Another cacophany of voices respond to Yi. One of the louder, more coherent
voices comes from a bear cub spirit nearer to her. *The caern is taken over.
We were attacked, fought back, and many fell--and we felled many, too. But
we lost, and many of the lost were bound. We came here to regain strength.*

Lyra appears in a swirl of wind and light.

Three-Blades grits her teeth, as she thought the reason why they were
gathered here was that. She nods gratefully to the bear cub spirit, before
calling out to the gathered again. *Spirit friends! You all look tired, and
hungry. We will give you what we can spare, so that you may grow strong
again. But, I ask for the help you can spare as well. The Garou feel the
pain of the caern's loss as well, and we need your help to take it back. You
can spread to the havens we have established in this city, and in the one
closer to the woods. There, rest and regain your strengths. The Garou will
come and help you restore your strength. I ask in return you help us as well
as you all have powers in the spirit world. Lend the Garou your watchful
eyes, ears and other senses. Teach us gifts that we may be able to use.
Together, we can battle back.*

Eamon blinks. "Son of a bitch. I was right? Huh. Well, there's a first time
for everything. This is also a good opportunity to make talens or bind
spirits, you know. They're already weakened.

Tobin takes a step towards Yi and says quietly, "Rhya, if you don't mind,
I'd like Cameron and Aubrey and I to be the main points of contact for
helping the spirits regain their strength." His voice is very, very earnest,
and there's a desperate look in his eyes.

As Tobin makes a good point, Aubrey nods her head as she comes to stand
aside the Silver Fang. "We have the time that most of the other Garou,
particularly Theurge like Sepdet don't have. We'd be willing to best aid our
spiritual friends as much as we can."

There are rats clinging to her arms and shoulders, perched atop her head
with little paws tangled in her hair. Like a strange shadow of her coat, but
coats don't usually have tiny black eyes and naked tails. Anneka's eyes are
unfocused, blurry for the space of a breath then sharp again. She looks out
along the park's edge and amongst the spirits for-- something?

Three-Blades glances down towards Tobin, an ear still cocked to the spirits.
~Don't ask me for the permission, Tested,~ she tries to reply as softly and
gently as can in her current mindstate. ~You know what you and your
ritemates can do to help. If you have the ideas, then act upon them. Times
like these, need little grovelling to elders.~ The ragabash offers a small
wolven smile, toothy as it is, to the theurges.

Lyra opens her eyes, and quickly claps her hands over her mouth, staring at-
everything. It was incredible. The fountain was different, the ground was
different...and what had to be spirits were just everywhere! The Philodox
cub slowly removes her hands from her mouth and looks for the nearest
familiar figure. She turns as she hears voices, and catches sight of Aubrey,
Tobin, and Yi-in-crinos.

A merlin spirit perched atop a stag's horn responds to Yi's speech. *As the
moon grows brightest, we are at our most powerful.* Judging by the battered
appearance of those spirits present, that isn't particularly heartening
news. *We must do our part in the spirit world now, but we may assist you
when the moon grows darker and we wane in strength.*

Anneka grins, bright and quick, scrambles over to Lyra. She's covered with
rats, but she is still reasonably human. "Hey. Careful, okay? These spirits
are real hungry. Don't give them any food yet, though."

Three-Blades looks up to the spirits again, particularly the birds and the
smaller, agile news-spreaders. *Go then, spirit friends. Take refuge where
you can in the city and wild havens that the Garou have made. Spread word
that the Garou will need you, as you need us. It has always been a cycle of
mutual strength between us. Gaia be with you all.* She looks amongst the
weakest looking of the spirits, and nods quietly to the Garou. ~Offer what
you can to the weakest ones. Don't just confine your offers to your tribe
totems either, if you can spare.~ The Gnawer steps down from the fountain,
her piece finished. She weaves through the spirits to the bear cub that had
spoken to her first, and offers her thanks in the form of a piece of her
spirit.

Tobin looks up at the merlin spirit, his eyes bright. *And we shall be there
to help you throughout it all. I am Long-Past of the Silver Fangs. Remember
me, for I will be back soon.* He once more turns his palm up to the sky and
offers the last of the Gnosis that he can spare.

Salem, with more than just a few cockroaches scuttling about over him,
breaks his silence. "I'm due back at the safehouse," he says, carefully
removing one large roach from his hair. "The Walk will be informed." With
that, he takes his leave, stepping back through the Gauntlet with no small
effort.

Something flits by her head and Lyra turns to see a sparrow-like bird spirit
whip by her, joining the fray of spirits in the glade. Then Lyra looks back
and sees Anneka there. "Annie!' she says brightly. Lyra looks the
sandy-haired girl up and down, then writes the rat-covered part off as just
'one of those things'. "What...what are they doing?" she says softly,
gesturing to the mass of spirit-creatures.

Salem's eyes stop contemplatively on his reflection.
A ripple of Umbral wind swirls about you, and the Gauntlet parts.


Harbor Park -- Fountain


Matt grins. "Timing. We could ask." He stands and moves back toward the
fountain. "So, no one dead Oi take it?"

Glissa looks up from where she's seated against the fence, children draped
against her or over her lap, Anneka's jacket beside her. Her face is rather
strained, but she doesn't interrupt the question.

Salem makes a face and straightens up, smoothing back mussed hair and
straightening the set of his coat on his shoulders. He turns toward Matt
and, with not-unpleasant surprise, notes Glissa as well. "Hm?" He shakes his
head sharply at Matt. "No one dead, no. Just some very battered, very hungry
spirits. Refugees."

Glissa covers her mouth with her hand. "Oh, the poor things. Anything you
can do for them?"

A crafty look crosses Matt's face. "Hmm. Per'aps they moight be willin' ta
do somefin' fer us, in exchange for feedin' 'em? Oi'm no feurge, but that
sounds like a fetish an' talen sorta bargain."

"A little," Salem replies. He pinches the bridge of his nose, looking
drained. Matt's Machiavellian attitude provokes a dour look from the Glass
Walker. "We fight the same war. And they're quite willing to help with what
they have, or so I gathered."

Glissa winces at the suggestion and keeps carefully quiet. On that issue at
least. But apparently she has another. Visibly steeling herself, she asks
nervously, "Sorry to bother you again, Mr. Salem, but... things being what
they are... could you tell me where the Walker Safehouse is? Matt wasn't
sure." She glances down at her children. "Just in case."

Salem turns back to Glissa, visibly settling his features into a facade of
calm courtesy, though the full-moon rage isn't as easily squashed. "Of
course, Ms. Nicholson. I'm headed back there right now, in fact."

Glissa smiles. "Just the address, that's all right."

Lyra appears in a swirl of wind and light.

"Ah," says Salem. "Of course." He reaches into his coat and removes a slim
black wallet, and from this comes a plain black-on-white business card.
There's no name, just a street address, a phone number, and an e-mail
address. He offers this to Glissa. "Feel free to call my cell if you need
anything, or if you have need of, ah, refuge."

Yi appears in a swirl of wind and light.

Matt shrugs at the Walker's disapproval. "well, as ye loike. Oi'm goin' ta
make sure th' /rest/ o' th' barney 'asn't fallen off th' map." He salutes,
palm outward in British fashion, and saunters out of the park. Matt steps
out of the glade and into the surrounding meadow.

Lyra looks down at herself. All the rats had disappeared. "I lost the mice,"
she says, as Yi appears beside her. "Will they know where to go?"

Yi, once on the flipside again, sits down upon the fountain's tile edge.
"They can't come over with us. Their bodies are only spirit, but the
stronger ones can sometimes use their magic to form on this side of the
world." The ragabash runs a hand through her hair.

Glissa murmurs a very grateful, "Thank you, Mr. Salem." The children are
stirring. She looks around. "Well, you all seem to be all right. I'd better
be getting home. It's not far, don't worry."

"Oh," the cub replies, tucking that away. She looks over to see the woman
and Salem over by the edge of the park. "What a nice lady. She's still here.
Poor tykes." Speaking of poor...Lyra sits by Yi, worriedly. "(Yi, you don't
look well at all. Let's go back to the Walker House, and you can sleep.)"

Salem barely glances at the arriving Gnawers, but dips his head in farewell
to Glissa. "Walk safe," he says, and then turns and heads out of the park.