It is currently 18:09 Pacific Time on Thu Jul 22 2004. Currently the moon is in the waxing Crescent Moon phase (37% full). You leave the room. Cockroach Mansion -- Upstairs(#3722RA) The dark opulence of the mansion's decor continues into the upper floors, where rooms are numerous and hallways are long. Most of the rooms are empty and haven't been opened for years; only a few are furnished and even fewer actually occupied. Still, the hardwood floors are in good repair, and the hallways are well-lit. It's been a couple hours. When Saul's door was open, the smell from the Soldering was released from, not to mention a let a number of figures into his room. Marcus and Natalie were both by, leading to some raised voices and flared tempers. That was then; It's been quite since Marcus left with a slam of a door. White Bear was hobbling his way back up the stairs, front right leg looking like it was healing from being mauled. Not too bad at this point. It would probably be healed up by the next day. He finishes his way up the stairs, noes irking at the burnt smell. The toilet flushes somewhere down the hall from Saul's room (which probably isn't far from Chaney's). Fortunately, it only flushes _once_, and then the water runs in the sink for several long minutes. The door's almost, but not entirely, closed. White Bear keeps up his hobble down the hall, ears irking at the noises from down it. He doesn't seem terribly surprised that the bathroom is being used, so it doesn't illicit any further attention from him. The sink faucet continues to run and run, far longer than it would take any _normal_ person to wash their hands after taking care of, uh, 'business'. But (as Josh is probably well aware) no member of this Roachy family is 'normal' and the lupus cub's no exception. Chaney emerges from the bathroom a few minutes after the water finally shuts off, looking proud as hell of herself, her hands all pinky-clean. White Bear picks up his pace (making noise as he goes on the hardwood floor), hobbling along down the hall. Many Faces, he greets the cub down the hall. You learned how to use the... the Ahroun hesitates, trying to figure out -what- to call it. He finally settles on: place for pooping into water. Chaney bares her teeth, her lips stretched in an imitation of a grin, just for a moment. "Bah," she tells the Ahroun. "Bah-um. Nahhh-teh." Then she cocks her head, looking at the Ahroun's injured leg. White Bear stops, head and ears skewing in confusion as he looks sideways at Chaney. He does not understand Many Faces, he replies slowly. As he stands there, he favours the bitten leg, not putting weight on it. Chaney blinks, then scrunches her face up. Her head cocks to the other side. "Naahh-t," she says, putting the emphasis on the final consonant. "Sayn... _Shan_ey. Bah-um." She points at the open door she just came out of. "Bah-um!" White Bear licks his nose, ducking slightly as he starts moving slowly again. He finally indicates he understands the cub, though it takes him a moment to get the confusion out of his posture. That is Holds-The-Line Rhya's homid name, Many Faces' homid name and the name of the place Many faces just left, yes? Chaney jerks her head up and down in a nod. "Shaynee bah-um," she tells White Bear, turning to follow him. She sounds very proud indeed. White Bear passes Saul's room, the other cub completely forgotten. He instead stops in front of Chaney's door, looking back to the cub... or her knees anyhow. Who has been teaching Many Faces homid-talk? Chaney blinks down at White Bear a moment before answering. "Naahh-t. Tahs." White Bear stands roughly near the door, still looking up to the Cub. He lowers his back side for a better view: She means Defends-Her-Worth, yes? Chaney nods again, slowly and deliberately. "Tahs. Tahs-wen." White Bear sits there, not responding as he looks up to the much taller Chaney, before he finally huffs slightly. This would be easier if Many Faces knew more Homid-Talk, or if she was in lupus, he states obviously and with a touch of frustration. Chaney's brow furrows. Then she nods again to White Bear and turns away, heading for her room at a light jog. White Bear doesn't have far to move, squinting in after the cub as she enters the room. Yep, he's confused again. The cub's in her room for only a moment before coming out again... in lupus, tail upcurled and generally perky. White Bear's confusion evaporates like beer at the Farmhouse, the Ahroun even looking a bit more relaxed. What has Many Faces learned, he wonders as he limps forward slightly in the hall. Aside from Homid Talk. Many Faces frisks around White Bear for a bit, wagging her huskyesque tail, her body language never straying from that of a submissive wolf. Many things. Many many things. How to be human. About Luna and Garou. Making colors on paper with hands! I like hands. White Bear has a hard time keeping up with the slight gimp, and the Older Ahroun looks more than a touch dizzy just watching her. This is good, he decides as he gives his head a good shake. What did Many Faces learn about Luna? Many Faces runs her tongue over her chops. She is like me. She has many faces. Each face is a way Garou fits into pack-of-all-Garou. White Bear brightens, lifting himself a bit higher at this news. Auspice, he supplies. Garou call the moon face of birth the 'auspice'. He is Ahroun, a full moon. What are you? Many Faces huffs. Yes, yes, auspice. Ahroun. I am Ahroun, too. Holds-Alpha said that the spirit that helped her find me showed it. One can almost see White Bear be overtaken by dread at the news that there are -two- Ahroun Cubs. The Older Ahroun backpedals slightly, shaking himself off once... and when that doesn't accomplish whatever he wanted, he shakes himself off again. Many Faces cocks her head, her body language indicating wordless query. White Bear doesn't notice the Lupus's question right off the bat, taking a moment while he still reels from the news. He will probably train Many Faces in how to be an Ahroun. Teach her how to fight Wyrm-things. Many Faces lowers her front end into a play-bow. Yes yes yes! Fight the Wyrm-badthing where it lives and breeds! Yes yes. That is one of Rules of all Garou follow, White Bear agrees. He will probably teach you how to fight wyrm thing so Many Faces is a good Ahroun. Many Faces's rear-end lowers slowly to the floor. Now? White Bear indicates a silent no, before adding that he did not know until now. Does not know what he would start teaching. Many Faces is obviously disappointed; she shifts her weight restlessly. Walk like human. Talk like human. Fight like human! Hands and feet, she sees this on the picture-box downstairs. Hands and feet and the things that kill loudly. Holds-Alpha teaches me a special way of standing and moving in human form that is not fighting, but she says it will help me fight. White Bear looks amused, the white Ahroun lolling his tongue slightly. Picture-box is bad way of learning how to fight. Some Garou think they see things that kill loudly on it, so using things that kill loudly would be easy. It is not. He stops for a moment, head skewing to the side again. -Does- many faces want to learn now? Many Faces immediately jumps up and pounces friskily at White Bear, wagging her tail with enthusiasm and aiming begging-licks at the male's muzzle. Yes yes yes yes! White Bear manuvers his muzzle around, clearly taken aback by the positive reaction. He lightly clamps down on the other's muzzle for a moment, before pulling back. He did not think Many Faces would want to. The Ahroun informs the other that he is going to the high up room of stone, where they won't have to think about hurting things. A dog would probably bark. Chaney does not. Still, the lupus' glee is obvious as she races toward the stairs, stops, turns, and charges halfway back toward White Bear. White Bear starts to follow after Chaney, but is quickly outstripped by her pace. However, when she turns to charge back in his direction, the Ahroun skids to a stop, doing his best to brace should she collide. Slow down! Many Faces is moving like a tree-rat! Many Faces reins herself in to keep pace with White Bear, though now he just has to deal with her being all perky and enthusiastic _right next to him_, jostling and bumping in a playful way and -- unconsciously, instinctively, subtly -- testing her strength against his. White Bear bumps right back. With the Gimp leg, it's a little harder, since he doesn't want to put too much weight on it just yet. But he doesn't even think about it as he butt-checks her right back, picking up his pace more than a little as he rushes for the stairs. Many Faces snaps at White Bear's tail, missing it deliberately, and bounds after him. Cockroach Mansion -- Tower Unlike the rest of the mansion, the interior of the four-story-tall tower has a rough and almost medieval feel to it. It's all concrete and stone and exposed lightbulbs. There's one room per floor, plus a basement underneath; a winding iron staircase leads from one level to the next. The highest floor of the tower provides the best view of the grounds and surrounding neighborhood; there are several windows with dark brown curtains and a couple of chairs to sit in. A black trunk acts as a makeshift coffee table and footrest, and there's even carpeting. Interestingly enough, all the windows are set with heavy black iron bars. On one wall hangs a whiteboard and some dry-erase markers and matching eraser. The rest of the rooms are used mostly for storage and have a chilly, shadowy, dusty feel. In the irregularly-shaped basement reigns the boiler. There are cockroaches everywhere, on every floor of the tower. White Bear is, quite naturally, first one to the tower. It's still chillier then the rest of the mansion, and as he speeds up the stairs the smell of the dozens of fights up there can still be smelled. The bleach scent is still present in some places as well, though much less prominent than the old blood. White Bear can't do the door knob trick on this one: there is simply no way lupus weight could get the heavy door open. So once he makes it to the top, he shifts up to Crinos long enough to open it, before he shifts back up part way to lupus, stopping at Hispo instead. The now-dire wolf presses into the room, leg seemingly forgotten as he bounds to the other end of the room, turning around and waiting for Chaney to follow up after. Many Faces can shift in this room, he announces. So she should shift to Crinos. Many Faces's first reaction upon reaching this new (to her) room is to start sniffing all around, though she pauses to look a little doubtfully at White Bear. I may? Holds-Alpha says I may only shift forms in _my_ room. White Bear huffs, much like the difference between a Glabro and a homid Grunting, it's much deeper with more air involved. He indicates silently that she may, before telling her that this room is out of sight, and Holds-Rhya would not mind her shifting in this room, so long as he is here. Many Faces, naturally, believes him and slowly bulks up into Crinos form. Hunkered down on all fours, she waves her half-curled tail slowly and looks expectantly at the male with eager, gleaming blue eyes and restlessly twitching clawed fingers. This monsterous blend of wolf and woman is a creature of fur and muscle and rage. Standing fully erect, she's about nine feet tall, though her typical posture is a simian slouch with long, apelike arms hanging and huge hands close to the ground; this body is shaped for quadrupedal as well as bipedal locomotion. Wickedly sharp claws and massive teeth only add to the overall impression of physical power and probable violence. A long, thick mane of dark auburn starts at the top of Many Faces's wolfshaped head and continues down her long neck and over her broad shoulders. The rest of her pelt is, predominantly, a lighter reddish-brown, similar in hue to that of an Irish Setter. Both humanlike hands and wolfish feet are dark brown, as are her ear-tips, tail-tip, and the spots that rise up from her extremities to fade about halfway along each limb. Her jaw, throat, and belly are all a pale yellowish color, and above each blue eye is a small white spot. Her tail, when raised, curls like a husky's. White Bear wants Many Faces to stand up. Standing up is not like standing up with Homid. It is different. Much taller, different legs. Many Faces might want to try standing up next to wall, so she does not fall over. The hispo is well on his way, prowling off to the side as he watches the Cub. Many Faces's huge muzzle gapes open, fangs showing and tongue lolling in an amused way. Rearing up, she stands to her full, erect, almost nine-foot height. Her ear-tips brush the ceiling, and she flickers them absently. Apparantly, the lupus has practiced this before, and she seems almost... smug. White Bear, seizing on an impulse, rushes forward with his head lowered to the Crino's stomach level, obviously trying to send the Cub falling over. Think fast! Many Faces is surprised indeed, and drops to all fours just as White Bear barrels into her, knocking her over. Her claws slash out at him, instinctually. White Bear rears back as fast as he can, but the claws still catch some flesh... this prompts an unhappy sounding growl out of the Hispo. No! Not good of Many Faces! He backs up, hackles rising and ears shooting full forward. Many Faces flattens her ears and, upon regaining her feet, edges backwards until she comes up against a hard stone wall. She's not afraid, merely confused. White Bear takes a moment to compose himself, head bending around to try and get at lick at where the claws caught on his side. No such luck. He looks back to the cub: When learning in form with Claws and sharp teeth, she must be careful. Claws and teeth hurt tribemates for long-time. Not hurt tribemates with claws and teeth unless she is told. Does she understand? Many Faces's ears tilt askew, her confusion deepening. After a moment of perplexed, frustrated whine-growly noises, she drops back down to all fours and lets her body shift into a more wolflike body. In hispo, she paws at the ground, claws scraping on the floor. How else does Crinos body fight? It has claws. It has teeth. With claws and teeth, White Bear responds 'matter-of-fact'. As if to contradict himself. The hispo paces to one side, before adding: he means for Many-Faces to be careful. He said to think fast. He was trying to show Many Faces something, and he was clawed for it. Many Faces's confusion deepens at the answer she gets to her question. Both ears turn backwards, and she eyes White Bear in a wary, sidelong kind of way, as if suddenly she didn't quite trust him. Many Faces's confusion deepens at the answer she gets to her question. Both ears turn backwards, and she eyes White Bear in a wary, sidelong kind of way, as if suddenly she doesn't quite trust him. White Bear huffs, looking a touch prelexed. Prowling from one end to the other, he finally stops and looks over to the other. He is not very good at teaching, he admits to the Lupus. Now he has three cubs to teach, two of which he has to. He wishes he was as good as his teacher, he finishes looking all and all 'sullen'. Many Faces watches the other for a moment, then sits down slowly. The lupus is still perplexed, but eventually asks him about the other cubs. What cubs? I am a cub. Holds-Alpha says so. Who else is a cub? White Bear indictes there is new cub down the hall from Many Faces. She might have smelled or heard him. He only has a homid name for now. Other cub is Get of Fenris Cub, who wants White Bear to teach him how to fight with ~knives~. He knows what to teach Get of Fenris Cub, but not his own. Many Faces stands up with a loud huff, tail rising and curling over her back. Teach _me_ to fight with... with what you said. I don't know what you said, that sound, was that Garou Talk? I want to fight like human! Like on the box downstairs! White Bear indicates a flat -no-. Get of Fenris Cub learned to fight with hands and claws first. He learned about ~Stance~, how to do all other things that he needed to know before learning to ~knife duel~. Besides, ~Knife-fighting~ is done in crinos or Glabro. Not often in homid. It is not like fighting with ~Guns.~ The New terms just fly out through the air, the Ahroun quite free with them. Many Faces's tail lowers part-way, and her ears flatten back against her skull. Turning away from him, she starts examining the wall behind her, sniffing it carefully and working her way along it. White Bear seems disappointed himself, the hispo's tongue sneaking out to lick his chops as he backs up a little. Finally, he offers out with sharp note to catch the Lupus' attention: does she still want to learn? He can maybe show her ~stance~ in crinos, if she is still interested. He will not be stupid this time. Many Faces looks up at the attention-getting sound and regards White Bear uncertainly; though the cub isn't challenging the other's dominance, she's clearly lost some confidence in him. This wars a little with her desire to learn fighting, but wariness wins out. I will wait for Holds-Alpha. White Bear huffs, although if he's irate at himself or the cub is anyone's guess. Shift and go, He tells the other. He needs to practice form and say prayers to Grandmother, an he indicates he plans on doing it here. He does not want interrupted. Many Faces twists herself up onto her hind legs and into human form and departs without further word; her bare feet make almost no noise as she trots down the steps, and the sound fades quickly. Cockroach Mansion -- Chaney's Room(#3366R) This large bedroom is spartanly furnished, and the nice hardwood floor is dull and scuffed. There are smudges and handprints on the pale blue walls and scratches on the molding and door. Along one wall, between the windowed wall and the one with the door, is a ballet bar. A twin bed, unmade, sits against the wall opposite. The Powerpuff Girls bedsheets are tangled. Shelves above the bed hold a number of childish toys. (+view) There's a lingering smell of canine in the room.