Tapestries: Pablo - Sunday, March 11, 2007, 6:19 PM

After recovering Tony from his attempt to attack the ghost car, Hope found a spot to pull her car over and the pack spent the next few hours, until the moon began to set, searching the nearby Umbra for a trace of the offending vehicle, without any luck. The pack's car's damage was mostly bumper-to-bumper. It doesn't look good, but there's no loss of structural integrity. Tony's damage looks a lot worse, but it was only blunt trauma and after a few minutes spent in lupus form, he was all better. The pack was readying itself for a second attempt the next night, when a knock on the cabin door revealed Kelly Whisper. She smiles at the group and asks, "Are you ready to find your totem?"

Tony is still feeling somewhat sore the next night. Not physically, but his pride hurts. He took a gamble and it didn't pan out. Now he's rather pissed at himself and at the black car. He's busy making caltrops out of bent nails and a hammer when Kelly shows up. When he looks up, he kind of looks like a kid playing with jacks, legs spread forward and hunched over. "Is it time?"
Shay doesn't think the nails are going to work. After all, it's a ghost; it likely has to be harmed in the Umbra for it to do anything. But he doesn't really say anything to Tony about it. "Hey Kelly," he calls as he waves to her from his window sill. "Sure thing."

Yiska probably hasn't helped Tony's mood much at all, since the first thing he did and what he's been doing all day.. is telling everyone how he jumped on a ghost car.. and tried to stab its tires. At the moment however he's just laying between Hope and Bit's beds, watching the pack leader work on his strange little nails.

Hope has also been in a pissy mood today, mostly because she's been worrying about things like not getting a police report and how do you tell your insurance agent you were rear-ended by a ghost car. Bits had tried to cheer Tony up, after all what he did was a very crazy brave thing to do... the kind of thing Coyote would like, so she's all grins about it. The two girls stand up, though, when Kelly enters. [more]

Kelly grins a little at Tony, having heard the tale from Yiska, and nods her head, speaking in her ever-quiet voice: "Yes, it's time. Come with me to the Umbra at the center of the caern." With that, she turns and slips into lupus, and begins an easy trot in that direction.

Tony is more confident than the others that the caltrops will work. Not to kill the thing, no, but certainly to stop it in the physical world while everyone jumps into Umbra. It's windshield shattered when he rammed it, after all, so it can be touched and damaged. The Uktena shuffles all his nails and the hammer onto his sleeping roll and rises smoothly to his feet. Melting down into lupus, he bounds off after Kelly silently.

Shay's all excited. As a theurge, this sorta thing is his bread and butter. He's in lupus, out the door and off after Kelly almost before Tony is. 
Yiska stands up and lopes out before the girls, though he slows down enough for Bits to catch up so he can make fun of Tony without him hearing. Of course it's not serious, he's just being silly.

Bits hangs out in the back with Yiska, trading quiet teases of the alpha, but Hope, also slipping into lupus, takes big strides and is near the front, glad to think about thins instead. She's quite excited too. Once the pack heads to the caern center, Kelly leads you in the effortless crossing here, and, once in the spirit world, she slips back into homid form. "Most of my part of this rite is already done," she murmurs, and holds out a handful of herbs. "Chew these, and then spread them on your eyelids. This will allow you to see the path of where your chosen spirit has been, so you can find him. Or her."

Tony is quite fascinated by the prospect of finding a totem as well, though he doesn't show it much. He's holding himself in a rather reserved manner. Accepting a few pinches of herbs from Kelly, he looks at them thoughtfully in his own palm before tossing them into his mouth to start chewing on. "What do we say to him or her when we find them?" he asks, now dabbing the bitter tasting stuff on his eyelids.

Shay investigates the herbs. He's just more experienced and wary about taking any kind of drug, mystical or otherwise, without at least looking at it first. He chews and muses the stuff on his eyelids before spitting the rest out; no telling what it'll do if swallowed. 

Yiska briefly shifts into homid to chew on the herbs and wipe them on his eyelids, he then shifts down into hispos. just in case. He makes a face and bleahs, wishing there was some grass to eat or something..

Bits seems just a tad nervous for a moment before she too follows Kelly's instructions. Hope smiles a little when she chews the parsley, however, it reminding her of her mom's dinners growing up. She dabs her eyelids too, then blinks. Kelly answers Tony's question, "Be direct, but polite. Ask the totem for their favor, and tell them that you want to be their children, that you wish them to bond and guide your pack. The totem may or may not ask you to perform a task for them." She smiles, and you can all see now, small blue glowing spots in the Umbra, up in the air and in the trees.

Tony slowly turns to take in the new sights that are appearing around him. "Alright. Hopefully Owl will be the agreeable sort," he says, swallowing the rest of the herbs. He knows the flavour. Facing the rest of his pack, he gestures to the blue areas. "Ready to follow them?"

"Yep." Shay wishes he'd brought a mouse. Perhaps Owl would have appreciated the gesture. Either way, he starts after the blue dots, not really waiting for the signal.

Yiska stretches out a little before nodding his head and following after Tony.

Both Hope and Bits nod, following as well. The path of glowing blue dots leads out off the caern, to the west. You pass through the local rural umbra, much of it still wild, but with bits of Weaver popping up here in there, in houses, service lines, and old roads. The path isn't hard to follow, but you do have to keep looking up. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Owl's path is not on the ground. After trotting for about 45 minutes or so, you hear a voice ask, "Where are we going?" Glancing over, you see an older Native American man, with long gray hair. He wears a long coat, and a black cowboy hat with silver and turquoise adornment, along with a feather in the band. He's running alongside of you, keeping up the same pace that you are in lupus and hispo.

Tony is enjoying the trip through the Umbral wilderness, taking the opportunity of the so-far simple quest of following this path to enjoy its beauty. Twisting rather sharply when he hears an unfamiliar voice, he faces this new man with a curious but intent stare. "We're looking for Owl," he responds slowly. "Have you seen him?"

Shay catches up to Tony and asides as casually as he can, 'He's the Nuwisha spirit Bits talked to before.' The theurge doesn't seem concerned about the man's presence - he's a cousin after all.

Yiska nearly falls onto his face from the surprise.. luckily he's in the back so he doesn't trip anyone up or hopefully get caught. He grunts softly and peers at the spirit.

Hope has a similar reaction to Yiska, stumbling a little bit, blinking and worrying just a bit, she's the ahroun, it's her nature to be prepared for fighting, maybe a little /too/ prepared, as her hackles rise a little. Bits slips up into homid form, for easier conversation as the pack stops, sticking her hands in her pockets. "Hello, Father." she says, looking at him, with, well, the same kind of look that a teenage girl gives her dad when he wants to know where she's going and how late she's going to be out. [more]

The spirit gives Shay an appraising look, "Well, you are partly right," he says to the Gaian, "It does always impress me when Garou have a clue. Yes, yes, I am Old Man Manyskins, Father Coyote, whatever you want to call me, depending on my mood and the phase of the moon. Hello, wolves and daughter mine." He tips up his hat and peers between Tony and Bits, "You are chasing Owl, then, hmm? You know," he says, leaning in conspiratorially, "He's kind of creepy and not very much fun at all." He stands back up, his gaze focusing directly on Bits now. "This is the path you've chosen, then, hmm? Owl's not usually one of my faces. What will you do if ol' creepy-gaze sees you are one of my children and won't accept you as his?" Bits's face twists into a frown, "That's a risk I'm willing to take, Father," she says. "Because I like it with these wolves. And I think this is the best path I can get to prank the Wyrm."

Tony hides his surprise at Shay's information. Of course, it's much harder to hide his surprise upon hearing who the spirit actually is. Coyote himself? Fascinating. But his words and Bits' make him step forward, patting a hand on Little-Smile's shoulder. "If Owl will not accept her, then we will not accept him."

Shay just sorta stares at Father Coyote. *The* big daddy of the Nuwisha? Woah. He wags his tail. 'Well hey there. Nice to meetcha. Shay Sees-Through-The-Mists, theurge of...' Does the pack even have a name yet? He then bobs his head at Tony's words.

Yiska blinks and sits down on his haunches, taking the moment to just listen.. he makes no other movements or says anything else. Though after a few moments he does shift into homid.

Coyote grins a little and shakes his head at Tony, "Well, that's very loyal of you, wolf. Maybe you should ask for my help, then, to make it right." He nods at Shay, "Nice to meet you too, kid." Bits is a little torn, obviously, unsure what she should do in this situation. After a moment, though, she does speak up. "I think this is the right path for me, Father. It might not have been the path anyone thought I would follow, but I like it, and I think it's where I need to go." Coyote looks at her for a long moment, his wrinkled face thoughtful.

Tony is conflicted as well. To be a respectful young wolf to this suposedly much older and wiser spirit, or to dare disrespect and do what he truly wants. "I appreciate the offer," he says eventually. "We all do. But we don't need any help right now. We can find Owl on our own, I believe."

Shay glances from Tony to Manyskins and steps up beside him. Attempting to be the olive branch, 'It's our pack's rite. It's probably better if we do it ourselves. If he's not as fun as you say, he'd probably be grumpy enough to think we're not good enough to get his Favor without your help.'

Old Man Manyskins laughs, "I don't know whether I should be insulted or think you wise for refusing my help!" He reaches over and touches Bits, on the shoulder. "If this is the path you're choosing, then, good luck with it. Remember my laws always, and, for the sake of your life, don't forget to be subtle!" He bows to the rest of you, "I am off now. But I shall return, when least expected... or, when it will be most amusing. Oh, and don't think I don't know what you are all thinking about my daughter there! Hahahahaha, that's funny!" With a flourish, he waves his coat and disappears.

Tony just smiles benignly, nodding his head a little at the spirit. He's glad that he isn't chastizing Bits for her choice. His parting comment makes the boy start, though, and suddenly blush furiously. "What's he talking about?" he asks defensively, snorting and turning his head back to the sky. "Whatever, let's keep following this path."

Shay just grins. Funny old man. He just turns and follows the pack - onward to the Owl!

Yiska blinks, turns to look at Bits, then side-glances at Hope.. he then bursts out laughing before shifting into hispo and resuming the trail. 'That IS funny!'

Hope doesn't blush, because she's in lupus still, though her ears flatten a little. Bits does, though, turning a deep red as she looks at her packmates. "Um, yes, anyway, let's go meet Owl, yeah."

The pack moves on, then, following the path that Owl has taken. After heading west for some time, it veers south, into an even less populated area. After some time, you are unable to see any more of the spectral path, and find yourself standing in front of a ghostly structure, an old, solidly built barn.
Tony stares up at the structure, hands resting on his waist. "Think this is where he lives, then?" It seems pretty obvious, since the path lead here and then stopped. "Let's knock, first, before we go inside uninvited," he says, walking to the doorframe of the old building and gently rapping on it.

Shay shifts into homid form. He gets mentally prepped. Talking the spirit into this ins't going to be like walking in and ordering a pizza. Since he's the theurge, it's probably his bag to talk Owl into it. 

Yiska really doesn't have much else to do besides take everything in and write it all down in his mental journal. So he sits down on his haunches and waits to see what Tony does.

At Tony's knock, there's a reply, a shrieking noise. Whatever you were expecting, it probably wasn't this... a sound right from a horror movie. It's not a noise that Yiska is familiar with, either, not a sound of the native animals of his home forest. There's a moment of silence, and then another cry, softer this time, asking in the spirit tongue, *Who is it who disturbs my nest?* (Here's the noise, don't play it if your volume's going to wake anyone in your house! http://www.barnowl.co.uk/interact/owlsounds/barn1.wav)