Tapestries: Pablo - Sunday, December 10, 2006, 1:28 PM

Hope and Tony, still in Crinos form, drag the crocodile a few hundred feet up into the clearing the girls have made. It's actually quite nice, relatively speaking, with plenty of room for all five of you, plus an apparently sturdy shelter made of palm leaves, twigs and vines.
Once you get the reptile out of the water, you realize just how massive it is, probably the size of a bus from snout to tail, and heavy enough that it's an effort even for your two strongest pack members, in Crinos, to haul.

Shay wonders if they're going to need to build a fire, to cook the croc. Rubbing two sticks together can probably take hours. "Y'know, Tony. I should probably thank you, or something."

Yiska pads around the massive croc, trying to figure out how to cut it up and cook it... 'I suppose we might have to turn it over and gut it? I've never had to eat a lizard before and we'll have to cut it up to save whatever we can for our trek.'

Tony is surprised by the size of the thing, and even more so that Hope and him took it down. For a moment, after the beast is up on land, he examines his big Crinos arms with renewed wonder. He'd never realized that such power could be summoned through this body, speed and ferocity. Giving his big head a shake, he lets himself fall down into homid, watching the fur and claws melt away. Shay's words make him look up sharply, and then give a sheepish smile. "Hey, no need. We're a pack," he says. "Well, Yiska, which parts are best for eating on a big creature? Muscle, fat, bones...?"

Yiska huffs and lies out on his stomach, he's killed plenty of small game and deer but never something this huge. 'The bones are useless to us, unless you wish to make weapons out of them. If you do so, we can use them as knives if you wish. Otherwise, the meat surrounding the bones, muscle and fat alike will be good for us, the entrails and organs as well will be nutritious.' He stands up again and steps back from the best, 'I suggest we gut it first and hang the entrails out to dry, when dry we can clean them and pack them or cook them while others work on peeling the meat free from the bones and perhaps working the bones into tools.'

Shay just blanches. Eating the guts? Ew. But he doesn't say anything. Though, he does look over the big ass creature, particularly its tail. He rubs the back of his neck. "Don't they usually cook the tails? I mean, in fancy restaurants, if you order gator, aren't you usually eating the tail?"

Yiska grins wide up at Shay, 'What is a restaurant?' He pads around to the tail and sniffs at it, 'I am sure there is plenty of meat in the tail, though it is probably hard and taut.'

As far as packs of cubs go, this group is actually fairly well-prepared to survive in an unusual situation. The combination of Yiska's wolven knowledge, Shay's years of surviving on his own on the streets, Tony's father's insistence on survivalist training and Hope's time in the girl scouts, the group is actually reasonably successful at gutting and using the parts of the beast, manufacturing makeshift sacks to carry extra meat, making some primitive tools and making a fire and cooking the meat to both eat and save for later. And yes, it does taste a lot like chicken, though it's almost all dark meat. It takes a lot of time and effort, and by the time the pack is done, it's the middle of the night and everyone is quite exhausted. Bits does her best to help where needed, but she seems still a little shaken and distant.

Tryst whispers, "Yiska tries to cheer Bits up a lot, along with the other in the pack by singing cute little songs or playing with her like wolf cubs do. :>" to you.

Shay surveys the carnage once everything is taken care of. This would probably attract something wanting a quick snack, so he can't help but feel as though someone should keep watch. But given the amount of sleeping time they have left, he doubts it. "And to think, this is just starting." Grinning wryly, he steps into the little shelter and curls up. 

You whisper, "Bits seems a bit cheered by your actions and she says she appreciates it. She just is a little scared." to Tryst.

Yiska tries to keep the mood a little lighter by singing childish wolf-cub songs about cleaning a kill and hunting - and he occasionally attempts to play with Bits, trying to keep her mood up and take her mind off of the situation. Afterwards though, he is pretty dead tired... and falls asleep rather quickly when all is said and done.

When the morning comes, it is raining, which makes you all quite glad that you're in a shelter ... and that it's holding. Scavengers have come during the night, but they've left your secured food alone, as they are drawn to the giant carcass instead. In fact, at the moment, a pack of the little Compies that Shay had hunted yesterday are poking at it right now, though they scatter when the cubs begin to stir.

Shay enjoys the water. It's clean. Well, clean before it filters down through the canopy, he supposes. Regardless, trekking in the rain is going to suck, but right now it's okay. "Shame we couldn't make a machete out of our friend over there."

Tony pokes his head out into the rain, staring at the little chicken-dinos as they scatter away with a flurry of chirps and hisses. Hrmf. "It's sunrise," he says, though it could be any hour before or after the actual dawn, given the way the rain clouds make the world look grey. "Actually," he murmurs to Shay, and moves fully into the rain and over to the maw of the big beast. "I have an idea." Shifting himself into Crinos, he kneels down and begins yanking huge teeth out of the jaws one at a time. ~Bits, can you get me one of those stringy vines?~

Bits goes off to get the requested vine, which is when Hope notices something, looking around. "Which way did we come in?" she asks, "Because I can't see where we bashed our way through to get here." In fact, as you survey the area, none of you see the knocked down vegetation.

Shay says, "Don't worry about it. We were going downstream to get to the valley, right? So we just walk back to the river and keep going down stream; it's not like the river's going to turn backwards overnight." For the sake of superstition, he crouches down and knocks on a fallen log.

Yiska hrms to himself and starts to pace around the perimeter of the camp, checking the foliage and seeing if he can find ANY trace of yesterday's passing. Plants shouldn't grow this fast.

Tony begins to make a few necklaces out of the vines and teeth. Primitive looking things, something you'd see on a witch doctor, but he finds them appropriate. A sign of the pack's first kill. Naturally he goes into homid to do the fine knot-work. "What's the problem?" he asks when he finishes up on the fifth one, standing and watching Yiska pace.

Bits and Hope move over towards Yiska as well, watching him. Despite his best efforts, there is no sign whatsoever of where the pack passed. Plants shouldn't grow that fast, but apparently they do, here, overnight.

"Woah, Tony." Shay grins a little. "That's actually pretty cool." He watches the others shuffle around Yiska, though he's just not that alarmed. 

Yiska shakes his head and sighs through his nose, 'The path is gone. There should be something here, but everything has grown back.' He turns and starts for the river, 'This is dangerous, we have to make sure that when we make camp we have clear indicators to the direction we're heading.'

Tony examines the area with a frown, nodding. He will have to be more observant from now on. Having your trail wiped clean each night will make things more difficult. Luckily - this time - the flow of the river can still guide the pack, as Shay pointed out. The alpha starts handing out the necklaces, grinning. "We're the new Croc Hunters, eh?"

Shay peers back at Tony dubiously. That was after his time being able to watch TV. But, he accepts it with triumph, even if he didn't actually do anything. For the Theurge, it's a reminder of just how, well, dangerous the world is out there, and one can easily get their face eaten.

Bits accepts it with a little bit of embarrassment, "Thank you, Tony," she murmurs, but Hope is quite proud of hers, "This rocks," she says, grinning ear to ear.

Yiska accepts the necklace but doesn't really say anything besides a simple 'thank you', as he's not sure he really deserves it. He wasn't very instrumental in the fight... and it makes him feel a little bad because of it.

Shay notices Yiska's look. Strolling over, he notes, "You sure helped us after the kill, y'know." He points to all the food they've packed afterwards.

Tony knows the three who weren't directly fighting feel awkward, but he won't have anyone feeling left out, either. Donning his own necklace, he starts the pack on the next day's journey, along the river and through the pouring rain. With the rain helping to rub the cold into everyone's bones, and the mud sucking at feet, it really sucks.

It does suck, indeed. It's not a fun march, but it seems that most anything with any sense isn't out, so the walk is fairly long, dull, and uneventful. In mid afternoon, the rain stops, just in time to make it a wonderfully hot and humid afternoon, making the various pack members pant, or sweat, profusely, as the case may be. It starts to rain again just as the pack stops for the night, making the building of another camp, well, almost as miserable as the trudge during the morning. There's no need for another set of hunting lessons because of the meat you've stored, so by the time it's night once more, you're all huddled under another shelter, eating and trying to get at least somewhat dry.

The pack sleeps soundly, if moist, through the night, and are up again about dawn in the morning, ready to head off again. The days of trudging and beating your way through the underbrush are wearing on you, even on Yiska, who, while he's used to days of travel on foot, is used to doing it in a smaller form, and not having to shoulder branches, vines and trees out of the way. So, it's with maybe a bit of relief that mid-morning on the third day you hear the low roar, or at least relief once you realize it's a waterfall, and not some monster. The noise grows louder and louder until, suddenly, the two Garou in the lead poke their heads out of the jungle into, well, the sky. Looking to your left, you see a tremendous waterfall. Beneath you, a mighty cliff, hundreds of feet in height. Spread out in front of you, you get the incredible view of an immense valley, as far as the eye can see in both directions. You see movement on the ground, herds of thousands of giant animals making their way through the gras
through the grasslands, and ahead of you, at the horizon, a mountain range reaches for the sky. Bits looks down and shakes her head. "Inconceivable!" she mutters.

Shay just stares outwards. "Woah." That's about it from him. Though, after he marvels for a little bit, he stares downwards, and gulps somewhat. "Um. Does anyone know how to rock climb?" The thought of just diving off enters his mind, but then he discourages the idea, not knowing how damaging falls are to Garou. Since he didn't bring a bungee cord, he's going to not opt for that.

Yiska hits the edge and almost immediately turns away, whimpering and laying down a few feet away, not wanting to look over the cliff.

Tony stares down into the valley silently, just taking in the view, letting it hit him. The only time he's seen anything this grand was a visit to the Rockies when he was younger, going to near the top at some resort with his dad and two states worth of land stretching off. This view, however, lacks the roads, the lights, the gridding of farmland, or any sign of smog to make the distance foggy. Noticing Yiska back up, he says, "You're our storyteller, Yiska. Please see this with us, remember it with us. The others will want to know when we get back."

"So," Hope says, after taking in the view for a moment, "How do we get down?" Bits replies, "We need a Spaniard, with a rope." Apparently, she's feeling a little better, well enough to crack a joke or two.

Shay doesn't get the joke. For some reason he thinks a Spaniard is some sort of pulley. Though he does shoot Tony a look, appreciating the encouragement of Yiska's role. "I would say our Crinos has a little chance, with claws digging into the rocks, but with it so big the weight would probably just yank us off the cliff."

Yiska swallows hard and creeps back to the edge, looking over for as long as he can possibly manage, trying to record the image for later on..

Tony points to the right. "We can't climb down right here, but there may be an easier way if we circle the valley's rim. I doubt we'll lose track of the place," he says. "And I think it's time we all had opposable thumbs, in case we fall," he notes, looking at Yiska.

Shay looks contemplative. "We're going to have to find a sturdy vine or something. Tie around all of our waists, so if someone falls the others can hold on." Though the idea of the top person falling and yanking them all down makes him extra worried. Yeek. 

Yiska just doesn't want to even think of climbing at all, 'Maybe there are some caves...' he mutters, shuffling back a few feet from the edge.

Tony nods at Shay. "Good idea. We'll stay a good distance from the edge, but keep it in sight..." It'll be difficult, since the thickness of the jungle can make judging where the actual dirt starts and ends difficult. "Bits, can you find more of that vine?"

You whisper, "Galliards all have good memories. This is why you happen to remember, in particular, this part of the instructions on how to get to the Seer: 'Scale the cliffs to the floor of the Great Rift Valley below.'" to Tryst.

Tryst whispers, "Tryst cries." to you.

Yiska doesn't really want to admit it, but he sighs through his nose, 'I'd rather try to find another way down, but the instructions we were given .. well... we were to "scale the cliffs to the floor of the Great Rift Valley", scale means climb down, right?'

Bits nods and disappears into the underbrush, while Hope looks over the edge, from left to right, and back again. "It looks to me like this cliff goes all the way to the horizon. Could be easier to climb down somewhere else though, yeah."