It is currently 15:53 Pacific Time on Thu Jan 15 2004.

Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (44% full).

Blue Mountains, Northern Extreme(#2521RAJ)

The tops of the mountain peaks are shrouded clouds, and snow dusts them until
      late in the spring. Though still thick in places, the treecover thins as 
      one climbs in elevation. Still, some few evergreens clump together in 
      isolated copses even near the rocky summits. Streams run through this 
      area in abundance, cutting deep gullies in the mountainside and rushing 
      down to feed the thick forest below.

To the east, the mountainous terrain continues, eventually merging with the
      Rockies many miles from here. To the north, things smooth somewhat into 
      the collection of foothills and rough land that makes up the highlands of 
      the Columbia basin. Nothing of interest is visible in either direction. 
      To the south lies the main branch of the north range of the Blue 
      Mountains, while to the west the trees thicken and a forest spreads out 
      over the feet of the peaks.

After the deer dinner last evening, Rain had herded the two cubs into a hole in
      the ground that she'd dug herself. Inside, it's cozy, almost cramped, but 
      with all three of them curled together it's quite warm, and the homids 
      are able to sleep. When they wake, the Talon is gone, though her scent is 
      still quite recent within the dark, earthy den.

Faces-Rage slept well, much better than in the tiny stone hollow that her and
      her tribe mate had been occupying earlier. Waking, the cub slowly opens 
      her dark eyes, muzzle splitting open in a wide yawn. Tongue curling, she 
      clicks her jaws shut, squinting at the entrance. Her nose twitches as she 
      takes in the Talon's scent, and she shifts beside Whispers as she 
      prepares to rise and head outside.

Whispers is mostly awake, but wishes he wasn't. His eyes are still closed and
      breaths are deep, but when Dakota stirs beside him, he raises his head 
      and flicks his tail in a good morning greeting.

The wind has died down, but the skies are still gray and overcast, and the snow
      looks like it may never melt. Rain's pawprints are clearly visible, going 
      back and forth and back again. The Talon herself is perched on a slight 
      rise in the land nearby, her muzzle raised as she sniffs the air.

Good morning. Faces-Rage tilts her head at Whispers, leaning over to give him a
      slurp across the nose. Come outside, she says before she takes her leave 
      and slips out through the den's opening and into the cold outside.

Whispers watches Faces-Rage leave, then slowly rises and makes his way out.
      Once outside, cold air fills his lungs and snaps him to life. He 
      stretches out and shakes his fur, ready to face the day.

Rain-Falls-Up looks over at the two cubs, then gets up and trots over to them,
      tail raised. Again, the both of them get sniffed over, though less 
      elaborately as yesterday. She wants to know how they are.

Faces-Rage is well and ready to learn. She lowers her head respectfully before
      the Talon, acknowledging her as leader and teacher. The Coggie's tail 
      begins wagging enthusiastically, a soft, quizzical whine forming in her 
      throat, curious to know what they are to learn.

Whispers submissively compresses his form as Rain approaches, but is otherwise
      fresh and eager, his eyes relflecting the curiosity of Faces-Rage.

Rain-Falls-Up first needs to know what you _need_ to learn, she tells them
      amiably, and flops herself down. What does it mean to be a wolf?

Faces-Rage attempts to answer in the straight foreward language of the wolf. To
      live. To hunt. To continue life. Not to question, to know. She wrinkles 
      her muzzle, unsure.

Whispers' confidence disappears in an instant, he'd never really thought about
      it before, and his tribemate's answer was a heck of a lot better than 
      anything he could have come up with. He takes some time to think about 
      it, but answers honestly that he doesn't know.

Rain-Falls-Up looks approvingly at Faces-Rage, but notes that wolves _do_
      question. But not in the human way. She chuffs, then bulks up into Hispo 
      form and continues in the more complex Mother Tongue. ~All Garou have two 
      parts. Human mind and wolf heart. Gaia made us this way, but too many use 
      much of human-mind and not enough of wolf-heart.~

Faces-Rage is not sure how to tell wolf's heart from human's mind. She whines
      softly this confusion, ears tilting back on her head.

Whispers wonders if it means less thinking and more doing.

Rain-Falls-Up rumbles. ~Doing, feeling.~ She sits up and scratches at her side
      with a hind paw. ~Tell me, homid cubs, what is the first lesson of a 
      wolf?~

Faces-Rage cants her head slightly to the side, nose twitching as she inhales.
      To smell, she wonders.

To walk, Whispers offers. It was the first thing he learnt in lupus, after all.

Rain-Falls-Up indicates that they're both wrong with a gesture and, smoothly,
      gets up and bounds at Whispers, shifting back down to lupus as she goes 
      and likely to knock him over if he doesn't scuttle out of the way. 
      There's no smell of anger in her; she seems quite chipper and amused.

Faces-Rage is bewildered and scoots away from the both so as not to get bowled
      over. Their place in the pack, she offers another answer, trying to 
      figure out what is going on.

Whispers' instant reaction is to cringes and back up, he hopes she'll stop.
      Seeing that she's probably not going to he slips off to the side, not 
      bolting, but fast enough to hopefully be out of her line of charge.

Rain-Falls-Up pulls up short, kicking up a good deal of snow and dirt, then
      looks at both cubs, one and then the other and back again. She barks once 
      at them. _Play_!

Faces-Rage chuffs softly in amusement at the answer. She trots over to the
      pair, glancing to her tribemate. Play. She drops her chest down to the 
      snow, rump high in the air as her tail wags, the white tip whisking back 
      and forth like a flag.

Whispers slowly rises from his cringe, eyeing both other wolves. Play, he
      repeats, though not terribly enthusiastically since he's still a little 
      unnerved from the charge.

Rain-Falls-Up waves her tail approvingly at Faces-Rage, then snaps playfully at
      Whispers. You are timid.

Faces-Rage barks once and bounds forward. She crouches before the male,
      growling playfully before pouncing at Whispers. Play!

Whispers crouches too, eyes on Faces-Rage like a cat eyeballing a mouse. His
      tail flicks about and then... he dashes off, not towards her, but away 
      from her. He tears a fast circle around the other two and finishes it off 
      with a charge at his tribemate.

Rain-Falls-Up watches the cubs now, ears splayed in approval; her tail waves
      gently.

Faces-Rage catches only snow when her paws touch the ground where Whispers was.
      Her body whirls as she follows his dash, and as he nears, she crouches 
      down in preperation to dodge. Just as it seems he's about to collide with 
      her, Faces-Rage leaps. Not to the side, not back nor forward. She bounces 
      straight up into the air, like a fox about to pounce a mouse.

Whispers is taken a little by surprise but the moment his head has caught up
      with him, he drops and rolls onto his back, jaws wide but not agressive, 
      feet up to come between himself and his landing attacker.

Rain-Falls-Up lolls her tongue and continues to watch, though she keeps
      attentive to their surroundings.

And down she comes, paws landing on either side of Whispers, with his own
      pressed against her belly and chest. Head up, she tucks her chin against 
      her throat to protect it, baring her teeth in a mock snarl as only the 
      tips of her teeth show.

Well, now what Whispers? Let's get Rain!, he suggests, hoping to get it across
      to Faces-Rage without Rain picking up on it.

Rain-Falls-Up glances back over at the cubs, one ear quirking sideways. The
      Talon lowers herself into a play-bow; apparantly, she 'heard' quite well.

Faces-Rage takes the moment that her tribemate is distracted by the lupus to
      shoot her head down and forward, jaws opening and shutting around his 
      neck, teeth pressed lightly against his throat. Submit. She growls out, 
      eyes glowing with amusement. He beat her last time they wrestled, she'll 
      not lose this time.

Crap. His tail beats softly on the snowy ground, but the rest of him goes limp,
      the pressure of his paws against her underside easing off completely. 
      Defeat, he concedes.

Rain-Falls-Up chuffs approval as she straightens up out of her bow. You see?
      Play. All things come from play. Hunting. Fighting. The first lesson is 
      play.

Faces-Rage wags her tail briskly and drags her tongue across her friend's
      muzzle to show it is all in good nature. Play. She barks her 
      understanding, moving away to let him up, head and tail held high and 
      proud.

Whispers rolls over and gets to his feet. He chuffs and lopes over awkwardly to
      Faces-Rage and shunts her lightly with a shoulder. Then he looks to Rain 
      for lesson number two, or perhaps more of lesson number one, who knows?

Rain-Falls-Up chuffs for them to follow her and starts trotting off. No more
      talk. We will run and smell and maybe hunt.

Faces-Rage leans her shoulder into Whisper's momentarilly before she picks up
      her paws to obediantly follow after the Red Talon.