It is currently 10:21 Pacific Time on Wed Jul 28 2004. Currently the moon is in the waxing Gibbous Moon phase (75% full). Cockroach Mansion -- Downstairs The heavy, dark opulence to this mansion known as Dominion is perfectly exemplified by the room vistors first enter, this front hall. Dark-stained wood serves as paneling on the walls, gleams with high gloss in the hardwood floor, and supports a semi-circular balcony in carved pillars. The heavy double doors, made of oak, open into the hall from the south, opposite the huge, hourglass-shaped staircase composed of red and black gneiss which soars up to the balcony; both are fenced in with a wooden railing of simple spiraled posts. Several doorways can be made out on the second floor, nearly blending in discreetly with the back wall. The wall to the left of the front doors is composed entirely of windows which run from the forty-foot-tall domed dark wood ceiling to the floor; if drawn, the heavy velvet drapes of deep red would completely mask them from view, but when parted, as they often are, one has a marvelous view of the grounds outside. A doorway to the right of the front doors leads to a parlor, and towards the back are the kitchens, the large dining room, and an office with an adjoining bedroom suite. It may be too hot to turn on the oven, but that doesn't stop supper - or lunch or breakfast - from needing to be prepared. Nat's back in the kitchen at the stove, stirring a pot of something with one hand as she reads a paperback with the other. How very domestic. Chaney is drawn downstairs by the smell of food and follows it into the kitchen. Seeing the Galliard, she pipes up, "Naht!" Natalie temporarily abandons her book to look back at her favorite lupus cub and offer her a taut smile. "Hey, Chaney. You done with your T'ai Chi already? Did you take a bath like I told you?" "Tih-eye-chee _bah_," Chaney affirms, and indeed her long hair is wet and tangly. Sniffing, she pads over toward the stove to peer into the pot. Pasta. The little frog's-eyes that go so well in pasta salad. "Don't touch," Nat warns, setting her book down and shifting aside so Chaney can get a better look. "That water's very hot. Couple more minutes and it'll be done. Get me the strainer, please." A finger points toward the wire-mesh strainer, hanging patiently on the wall near the fridge. Chaney's eyes follow the pointing finger to the object, and obediently she fetches it. "Stay-nah, pwees," she says, echoing Natalie's last two words and using the Galliard's same inflection. Natalie manages half a grin for her. "Good job, Chaney." She gives the pot one last stir before taking the strainer and setting it up in the sink. "I'll just pour this out and let it drain." A fwhoosh of boiling water accompanies as she suits actions to words. "There we go. Did you see Saul when you were upstairs?" Chaney watches the procedure avidly and doesn't answer Nat's question right away. Then she blinks blue eyes at the Galliard. "Sahl. Sahl Groo." "Saul is indeed a Garou," Nat affirms as she fetches out a plastic bowl. "And he's an Ahroun, like you. Can you tell me how he's different?" She glances out the window, giving the backyard a piercing look, then adds, "You can shift to lupus if you want to." Chaney clearly isn't getting everything Natalie's saying, though she brightens at 'shift' and 'lupus' and does so. Once in her birth form, the cub rears up to prop her forepaws against the counter and sniffs at the food some more. Smells good. Very good. I'm hungry. Natalie waves her stirring spoon in the vague direction of Chaney's nose. "You're always hungry. That's for dinner, so keep out. Did you eat breakfast this morning?" Many Faces makes an abortive grab for the spoon, then drops back to all fours. Ate in the morning, yes. Many bagels. Could not find the peanut butter. "Well if you've eaten bagles, you shouldn't need to eat again until lunch." Cruel Alpha that she is. "So -have- you met Saul? I really ought to get you to together for lessons, since you're both Ahroun. Though I have the feeling Saul's going to me more of a hacker than you will." Many Faces sniffs around Natalie's feet while she talks and hoovers up some dropped crumbs and such, her tail wagging. Other-Cub plays with machine, smells like the one Dark-Hair always has. "Yup," Nat agrees, "That's a computer. A trained hacker can do some serious damage with one. I may see about farming some of his training out to the Sept Jon came from, since I'm not what you'd call a big techno-geek. Watch your paws." Heedless of cub noses or feet she dumps the pasta into the bowl, lids it, and takes it to the fridge. "So quiz time. Tell me about the other tribes." Many Faces manages to keep out of the way and lies down on the floor, watching Natalie all the while. Tribes? You want me to tell you of tribes? But you _know_ the tribes already! "I know the tribes, yes. I want to know if /you/ know the tribes." Nat grins at her logic and considers something inside the freezer before closing the door and leaning on it, hooking her thumbs into her front pockets. "I know I didn't tell you all of them last time, and I'm wondering if you picked them up from somewhere else. So. Tribes, kiddo." Many Faces thinks a moment. Bone Gnawers are stinky omegas and one of them killed one of our tribe-pack. Black Furies fight like mothers protecting pups. Get of Fenris fight, too, and a lot. Wendigo also fight a lot and do not like us. Red Talons are all lupus like me and think humans are bad. Fianna howl very well and the Alpha-of-all-Garou-here is one. Natalie nods at her to continue. "Good so far. You're missing... hmn, seven. Keep going." Many Faces licks her chops and thinks for a bit. Uktena are sneaky and sniff in dark places. Children of Gaia want everyone to be one happy pack and not fight anyone except Wyrm. Silver Fangs are alphas like Bone Gnawers are omegas, and Shadow Lords _want_ to be alphas. Natalie says "Three left. One fast, one mysterious, and..." A meaningful trail off is the last tribe's only identification. "Do you know them?" Many Faces's ears skew. Fast. Fast? Silent Striders! And Stargazers are strange and mysterious. And us, Glass Walkers, survive and adapt. Natalie levels a finger at her. "Bingo. And I know -you- know about the different forms, and you're learning to fight. Sometime in the next week or so I want to take you and Saul into the Umbra. There's also going to be a Moot next Monday, so you'll get to go and introduce yourself." Many Faces lolls her tongue and sits up. Moot? Many Garou? Here? Natalie shakes her head. "Not /here/. Out at the farm. You remember the farm, don't you?" Many Faces swipes her tongue over her nose. Defends Her Worth. Painful ground outside. Much peanut butter. Natalie nods at her. "That's the one. And the barn, where we dedicated your clothes. Though really, the farm is just on the outer edges of the bawn. The moot will be held at the Caern, deep within the forest. Do you know what a Caern is?" Many Faces looks blank for a moment, then perks her ears. Do nothing to hurt the caern! Very important rule! Natalie snorts at her, but nods. "Part of the litany, yes. But -why-, that's trickier. A caern is... hmm. A Caern is a very special place. It's very very close to Gaia. The Wyrm hunts out weak Caerns and tries to claim them for itself. Every time that happens, the Wyrm gets stronger and Gaia gets weaker." Many Faces doesn't look completely enlightened, but seems to get the gist of Natalie's words. Caerns are important to Gaia. "/Very/ important," Nat agrees with a nod to punctuate her words. "That is why it is in the Litany. You Shall Take No Action That Causes a Caern to be Violated. That's what the Sept is for, to protect the Caern. All of the Garou here are part of the Sept of the Hidden Walk, and Megan is our Alpha. That means we all fight to protect this caern, no matter what our tribe." Many Faces opens her jaws and lolls her tongue out, panting. When can I fight the Wyrm? Natalie considers her for a moment or three. "After you've been through your Rite of Passage, and have been tested. Before Luna shows us her fullness three more times. Why, do you think you are ready now?" Many Faces utters a low, growly whine. I want to fight. Natalie continues to watch the cub, expression cooling. "Of course you do. Part of that is because you're Garou, and part of it is because Luna's getting bigger. That's why Emily isn't sticking around, and it's why Jon isn't here either. Last thing we need is for someone to snap. Though I'm considering taking you out to the farm for a few days. Maybe a week. Let you interact with the other cubs." Many Faces lays her ears back a bit and lies down. I go to the farm? "For a few days," the Galliard assures. "So you can meet the other cubs and the other tribes. Most of them won't - don't like coming into the city. You're going to have to work with them, after all. And some of them will be your packmates." Many Faces huffs, then lays her head down on her paws, apparantly having no reply. The lupus looks thoughtful. Natalie's quiet as well as she considers the cub in turn. "What are you thinking about?" she asks after a few moments have passed. Many Faces lifts her head from her paws and then sits up. I don't understand everyting you say all the time. Nat blinks at her. "That all? That's not that surprising. Here..." Another look out the windows and she shifts into lupus as well, tongue lolling. I forget how much you do not know sometimes. Do not be sad if you need to ask me to repeat myself. I will not bite you for it. Many Faces's ears skew. I know this. I wish I did not have to ask. Human-talk is _hard_, but nobody else has to fight it but me. Holds-the-Line points out the obvious, that no one else is a lupus. I am very very proud of you, Many Faces. She pads over to the recumbent cub and takes a swipe at her ear with pink tongue. I cannot say how proud I am of you. You are learning very fast and working very hard. You are truly one of Cockroach's children. Many Faces is cheered by the praise and licks at Holds-the-Line's muzzle, her tail wagging against the floor. Holds-the-Line adds that if she had the choice between teaching you and eating peanut butter, she would rather teach you. She snaps lazily at the cub's ear before flopping onto one hip. Do you need me to repeat anything now? Many Faces looks astonished at Holds for a moment, then huffs. About the caern. About the farm. Holds-the-Line's ears flick backwards as the fridge cycles on, then forward again. The Caern is a very special place. The gauntlet between the Umbra and this world is thin there. That is because it is so close to Gaia. Many Faces wags her tail. That is why we protect it from the Wyrm! Holds-the-Line's own tail thumps just once. Yes. The Garou living near the Caern are called the Sept. The entire Sept is responsible for guarding the Caern. This Sept is called Hidden Walk. Many Faces understands this. This makes much sense, yes yes. Holds-the-Line explains that the Caern is deep within the woods by the farm. The farm is where the other tribes keep their cubs while they are being taught. That is why I would like you to spend time at the farm - to meet the other cubs. Many Faces acknowledges this with a tilt of one ear. Will the other cub go, too? Holds-the-Line considers that. Eventually, yes. But he is not as far along with his training as you are. Would you like to go together? Many Faces huffs. I don't know. I don't know him. Holds-the-Line thinks that you should think about it. She yawns, ears flattening, then snapping forward as her teeth snap shut. Do you have other questions? Many Faces gets to her feet and shakes herself. I will think. No more questions. I'm tired. Too many questions. She yawns to demonstrate and then shifts back up to human form. Holds-the-Line follows suit, pushing herself up from a three-point stance. "Too tired for a popsicle? If you are, you can have it after lunch." Chaney perks. "Bops-cuhl!" She's never too tired for something sweet, of course. "Bops-cuhl, bops-cuhl!" Natalie snorts wryly and with a muttered comment of, "And this surprises no-one," fetches out a popsicle for the girl. A quick squeeze makes short work of the double stick, and shortly Nat hands over one half of a banana popsicle, claiming the other half for herself. Chaney takes with barely-polite alacrity and sticks it into her mouth, innocently licking and sucking in a way that would probably drive Dirk to a guilt-ridden distraction.