Werewolf Intermediary Arc

[rivaan]

"Yes..." Akane said with a nod. Then began reciting the description of the place from the journal. She had read it so many times, she knew it perfectly by now. She described the form of the glade, the cottage, the forge, the carved wooden pillars, the chimes that were hanging on the pillars, the blackhaired woman and the horse, which from what she just heard how the wolf spoke and what she managed to remember must have been a spirit too." That is the place I'm searching. My mother used to go visit that place often, not that she is dead. The only way to learn why, is to visit it..." She said with sincere voice.

[Keira Kelly]

The wolf sat back, regarding Akane quietly for a long while. Kate was beginning to wonder if they had insulted it perhaps, or maybe they just weren't important enough in Fenris' eyes to bother helping but finally they heard the voice again. "Pack Bane of the Wyrm." came the eerie sounding words. "Kill minions of Wyrm. Spill blood. Bring respect to Fenris. Advantages... to help slay Wyrm." It paused again. "We watch Bane of the Wyrm pack. We help. Obligation. Chiminage. Future favour. If you agree, will help." it said, waiting. Seeing Akane's nod, it continued. "Know this place. Spirits there adverse to Fenris, to Garou. May be dangerous... but danger welcome to Fenris. Proves strength. Courage. Find place and stay alive, find strength to kill the Wyrm." The wolf stopped now, eyes darting quickly to Kate as she saw its paw digging into the ground as she had the night before. She unconsciously held her breath as it did so but when she saw the glyph it had left, she let it out in relief. It was not the same one... This one indicated East. It wrote another one, the Garou symbol for water. A river perhaps, thought Kate. True to her thought, the wolf spoke again as it looked back to Akane. "Follow river. Long travel. Days and perils but place is near river." it explained.

Kate could not help but speak up. "The river that runs beside our territory?" she asked.

The wolf turned its gaze on her. She was used to seeing wolves whose eyes were far more than an animal's but this one.. was so far beyond that that she could feel the shiver run down her spine. It tilted its head at her. "Yes." it replied after a moment. It kept staring. Why hadn't she kept her mouth shut, she admonished herself. She really didn't want its attentions right then. "Fenris watches pack. Watches you. Pack stays strong when knows all." it said to her.

Kate's jaw hung slightly open for a moment. She wasn't sure what to say just then. "I know." she answered finally. "I... just want to help my pack-mate." she added, hoping that the spirit would drop the matter and it finally did, turning back to Akane.

It looked at the Glass-Walker. "Travel East. If lost, call as today. We will hear." it said. "Anything more? Remember... future Chiminage..." it reminded.

[rivaan]

"I'm not afraid of dangers." Akane said, listenling to every word of the wolf spirit with upmost concentration. The answers she needed were getting close more and more.
"No, nothing more ohh great spirit." Akane replyed." Please accept my gratitude. I will not ever forget this and will not fail to return this favor, whatever it may cast me." She said with happy voice.
"Need to prepare provisions!" Akane said after the wolf left. Then she quickly turned towards the caern, made a few steps and stopped, turning towards Kate."Kate, you will come with me right?"

[Keira Kelly]

Kate stared off in the direction that the wolf spirit had fled through the woods, unable to decide if she was glad that it was gone or not. She felt honoured that it would choose to heed their call, that it said Fenris did indeed watch over them... but she still felt some trepidation about the other matter. At least Akane seemed to have ignored the spirit's words to the Fianna. Kate just wasn't ready yet. She snapped back to the present and watched Akane's frenetic movements. As the Glass Walker turned to question her, Kate quickly threw on the facade of a smile, of good spirits, hiding her inner turmoil the best she could. "Of course." she answered. "Wouldn't let a packmate go into the unknown alone. That's not the way of our kind." she added. Akane asking that she'd come pleased Kate; it was a very.. Garou thing to do, wanting to keep with your pack. Kate had at one point despaired that Akane would ever act like a proper Garou but she was beginning to learn.. or perhaps just accept the wolf inside of her finally. It was unfortunate that Veli was away visiting family or friends back in his homeland so that meant this journey would just be the two of them.

She frowned slightly. "Provisions..." she muttered to herself, looking back towards where the Sept's cave was. She'd have to bring her sword of course... Thankfully the clothing she wore now had been dedicated properly so shape-shifting wouldn't cause a problem in the wardrobe department. If they were to travel alongside the river, there'd be plenty of fresh water but bringing at least one waterskin with them, even if it was an empty one, might be a good idea just in case. Other than that, only food was potentially needed. They could carry a fair bit of dried meat easily or even hunt if they needed to. There were rabbits, birds and deer in these woods.

Kate followed Akane back to the cave. Heading inside, the Fianna made her way to her own little area. She got the impression that the Glass Walker wanted to leave right away. They'd talk to the Sept leaders as soon as they had their things, she decided. She grabbed her own sword, fixing the scabbard around her waist as she thought of their upcoming trek. The spirit had said it would be a few days travel; it would be best accomplished in either wolfen or Crinos form, forms more adept for running for long stretches than the human body. Kate decided she would use the Crinos form as the sword she carried was not dedicated as her clothing was and would impede a wolf-body too much. She glanced down at her bedding, wondering for a moment whether a blanket would be a good idea to bring but she quickly decided against it; it was just something else to carry and she would easily have her own fur to warm herself if the nights became too chilly. She grabbed a small box of matches from one of the pouches she kept around her bed and stuffed them into a pocket.

As she headed back to meet up with Akane, she realized she was slightly excited to be shifting. It felt like it had been too long since she had and she was anxious to feel the power and might of the magnificent war-form of the Garou. Perhaps they could even cross into the Umbra for their travels, preventing any chance encounters with normal humans on the way. It had really been too long since she'd stepped sideways... When she reached the Glass Walker, she patted her items she was taking. "Got my sword, waterskin and some matches." she told Akane. "We should tell Alrick and then I'm ready whenever you are." she said.

[rivaan]

"Thank you." Akane replied with a smile. It ment a lot for her that Kate agreed to acompany her. The albino didn't really have any friends or even people on friendly terms among the humans, except the two mechanics that worked for her, but they were subordinates of hers, so they didn't really count.
With both of them back into the cave, she quickly ran to her backpack and put in it what she wanted to take with her. The mantle, a pair of clothes since she didn't really wear much shifting appropiate clothes, also a bottle of water and some dried meat. She actually had her phone turned off for a while now and to be more precise it was in her car, at the edge of the town. She took also a compass and a map, just in case such things were needed. One never knew...
"Alright, I'm ready too." Akane replied then continued with a nod." Alright let's go inform him." She said.

[Keira Kelly]

Talking to Alrick had not taken long; the leader had been quick to agree to their quest, especially after they told him that it had been a spirit which had revealed the destination to them. As well, with Veli elsewhere, a pack of two was not terribly effective and would not be missed for a handful of days at the caern. The old Silver Fang had wished them well, made sure they had what they needed and had sent them on their way. Now they trekked through the heavy forest, the river off somewhere to their right. Kate was consciously trying to watch all around them as they walked. The further they got from the Sept's lands, the more likely they would encounter people. Though this area of forest was vast, it was also in the middle of civilized Europe. That meant there were likely roads around and who knew where people might show up, camping or hunting or other. She slowed to a halt, calling to get Akane's attention that she was doing so. "Akane, walking like this will take us much too long. Other forms will be much more efficient at travelling." she said as she undid her sword belt, removing it and the waterskin.

Shape-Shift to Crinos
Difficulty : 6
Roll : 3,8,1,2,6,9,3
Successes: 2 Needed for Crinos : 2

Kate's figure grew suddenly, clothing and skin melting into fur until she stood just under ten feet tall, a massive red-brown and beige furred werewolf still holding the sword scabbard. She adjusted the belt and put it back on. While the sword had looked almost too big for her human form, it appeared almost more the size of a short-sword to her Crinos form. She hung her waterskin back over one shoulder again and glanced around yet again, looking for any signs of witnesses. "Much better." she said, switching to High Garou. "We should step sideways." she suggested. "Better to travel." As she waited for Akane's answer, she stretched out her own muscles. It wasn't that they were stiff or anything but she just wanted to feel the power of the increased mass of her Crinos form. It felt like she could try to take on anything like this. She wanted to run, wanted to howl to Luna and Gaia. She wanted to hunt. She knew then that she'd been denying the wolf part of her for too long and it was good that she had accepted it back finally.

[rivaan]

"You are right... it will take too long indeed." Akane replied too and put her clothes in the backpack. The weak wind was refreshing... Suddenly she let her anger explode within her.

Akane has taken the action Shift to Crinos
Difficulty : 6
Roll: 2, 9, 4, 2, 9, 4, 2, 8, 6, 4, 6, 4
Successes: 5 (5 sucesses, 0 failures)
Quality of Success : Phenomenal (perfectly done with mastery)

Her body began to change, skin turned to fur, teeth to fangs, nails to claws... The whole perspective around her changed. She could sense so much more than before, but the animalistic instincs were very strong as well. She growled, raching and taking her backpack with one hand. It seemed so small next to her body now.
"I support that idea. If we travel as fast as possible withing the umbra, we should be there sooner as we won't have to be careful about not meeting unexpected people..."

[Keira Kelly]

Kate looked down at the smaller, pure white Garou; even in this form, the Glass Walker was as comparatively smaller to her as she had been in human form. Well, there was one bad thing about Akane's colouring, she thought : it wouldn't camouflage very well. Kate's own darkened red-brown with beige 'under-side' fit in much more naturally to their surroundings. Then again, Akane was a Ragabash and they were stereotypically renowned for their stealthiness.. She would just have to rely on that, Kate thought. At least it would be less likely running into trouble.. no, that actually wasn't true.. The Umbra could be a dangerous place too, but at least it would be less likely they'd run into humans. If Fenris was indeed watching out for them though, perhaps his spirits would be nearby on the other side. That comforted her just a bit.

On Akane's agreement, Kate turned her head, ears swivelling towards the sound of running water. "This way then." she said, taking the lead, as was her place. She began stalking through the woods towards the river, stopping as the trees thinned somewhat to glance around and up, making sure they were alone right there. When she was sure they were, she emerged the rest of the way, going to the water's edge and finding a pool that was still and reflective. She knelt down beside it, staring into it deeply, willing herself to pull both of them across. To step sideways. She knew she had to practice this more often but after a few minutes, she felt the shift.

Bringing her eyes up off the water, she glanced around. The forest still surrounded them, as dense as it had been but obviously different. The feel of the life of the place was stronger, the colours of the trees and plants so much more vibrant... the greens and browns almost assaulting the eyes. Animals moved around within the brush, not threatening but proof of the fertility of the area. Kate smiled, or at least what would have been the equivalent of a smile on her wolfen muzzle, raising it into the air as she closed her eyes and breathed in the strong smell of.. nature. She had missed this as of late. She realized now that if she had kept to the path she'd been on, it would have been the life of this place that she would have lost, and likely her own life with it. Being here though now filled her with what she had deprived herself of in the past couple of months. She felt.. more content now with the realization and change she was making.

Finally she turned her contended gaze to Akane. She vaguely wondered if the Glass Walker could appreciate the wilderness as she did or if Akane really did prefer Weaver-infested buildings crawling with spirit spiders and encased in webbing. How could any Garou choose that over the wild, she wondered. Shrugging off the questions, she changed the subject. "We ready?" she asked. Receiving confirmation, she turned East, beginning to run with long strides of her Crinos legs. At some point, she would likely switch to a quadrupedal gait but for now, she stayed on two as she ran. She could hear Akane following close behind her but only paid that the slightest of attention, most of her concentration directed at avoiding trees and other obstacles.

-------------------------------------

They made good speed on their journey; it had only been two days and half of a third by the time they realized something had changed in the atmosphere of the Penumbra in which they travelled. As the spirit had instructed, they had stayed beside the river as they had progressed Eastward. It hadn't told them what to look for to find their destination but what they now felt was enough to make them wonder if they were getting near. Kate slowed to a halt, finally not able to ignore the feeling anymore. The air seemed to be buzzing with energy making her skin beneath the fur feel like insects were crawling on it. She could feel her fur attempting to stand on end as if there was an electrical charge in the air. Or maybe it was just her own body trying to raise its hackles in the presence of something that was setting Kate slightly on edge. She kept looking ahead, sure that that was where the feeling was coming as it had been getting stronger as they headed in that direction. "Feel that?" she asked Akane.

[rivaan]

The Umbra was affect by something! Akane wasn’t an expert by any stretch, but this place was different from the rest they passed until now.” Yes, I feel that too.” Akane replied with a nod.” This has to be it.” She said, eyes focused forwards into the direction of the strange feeling they got.
“We will have to return to the ‘normal’ world…” She said.” Frankly I’m not sure what the master of the glade is. From my scattered memories it’s a woman in her late twenties or younger. I’m getting the feeling looks might be deceiving though.” The albino said to Kate.

[Keira Kelly]

Kate narrowed her eyes. "You think this is the place?" she asked. She looked around for anything out of the ordinary. "You may be right... If it is, to have this leak over into the Penumbra.. she is either incredibly powerful or.. has been around here a long time..." she said, taking what little she knew about the Umbra into account. "Yes, if we've indeed reached our destination, we should step back... If not, this.. energy is worth checking out anyways.." she agreed. She felt uncomfortable as she turned her back on where the feeling was coming from but she needed the river for this. She trekked over to the water's edge, kneeling down once again and staring into the liquid. It was far more beautiful here than in the normal world, shining like quicksilver with a myriad of colours behind it. Staring down into it, she concentrated until she felt the shift and before her, the water appeared the dark green-blue of normal reality. It was in shadows, the late afternoon sun casting the shadows of the trees on it.

Kate turned back to Akane. "This is your quest, Glass Walker." she said, a bit more formally. "It is your path. Lead the way." she added, motioning to where the feeling had been strongest. On this side, it didn't feel the same though; Kate couldn't feel the surge of energy here but memory of it kept her wary. Her Crinos hand hovered near the sword hilt at her hip.. just in case.