Tapestries: Pablo - Friday, August 25, 2006, 2:54 PM

Kelly explains further, her tone always hushed: "There are a number of divisions among Garou. First is the manner of your birth. Most are born human, a few born as wolf, and some are born by the mating of two Garou. They are the metis, and deformed. Garou are not to mate with other Garou. The second division is by auspice. The phase of the moon under which you were born determines much for a Garou. Your auspice, and mine, is the crescent moon, the Theurge. We are the seers, the speakers with spirits."

That might explain how he saw the unicorn. "So, how does that relate to the Children of Gaia? Cursor said that's what I am, and what you are. Isn't he, too? Or...?"

Kelly shakes her head. "No, that is the third, and saddest division among the Garou. The tribes. There are 12 tribes of Garou who are allies, of a sorts. But our tribe is not one based on ethnic relationships or regions of origin. Our tribe was formed to end the Imperigium, millenia ago." She smiles, sadly. "The Imperigium was a time when Garou controlled the population of humans in the world by culling when there grew too many. We are today the peacemakers of the Garou, the mediators. We seek to unite the tribes in our true fight, for our mother Gaia, and end the petty differences that have long seperated us.

Shay finds somewhere to sit down, flopping conveniently and watching Kelly. He glances down at the stone, then up at her. "What is our true fight? What are we fighting? Keeping the tribes together?" 

Kelly seems pleased by your questions, enjoying your inquisitveness, but she shakes her head. "What we fight," she murmurs, "Is called the Wyrm. It is evil; corruption, entropy and decay incarnate."

Shay looks just a little skeptical a second. "So, we're the good guys fighting the forces of evil." It all seems so... trite? He gives a shrug. 

There's simply tolerant bemusement in her expression as she whispers a question in reply: "Why? Would you have preferred to have fate land you on the other side?"

A shake of the teen's head. "No. Just... Hard to believe in things that are Just good and Just evil when everything in the world just sucks."

Kelly closes her eyes for a moment, saddened by the world-weary cynicism the young man already displays. "Well," she murmurs, opening her eyes once more, "I can tell you that there are certainly things that are pure, unadulterated evil out there. I have seen them. And I have seen things that were blessed and good. But the former far out number the latter, which is why the world may seem to 'suck,' as you put it. Of course, there are many, many things that rest in between on that scale of good and evil, most of humanity... and most Garou, too."

That seems to satisfy him. The fact that the Garou aren't very much apart from humans - a lot of grey, but capable of more - allow him to believe it a lot more. "Okay." Scratching the back of his neck, "So... what do we do? The auspice, you said? Do we go into the Umbrella and talk to the unicorns?"

She puts her hand on your shoulder in a motherly way. "Eventually, yes, that will be one of the things you will do. Of course, there are many, many more spirits than Unicorn who inhabit the Umbra." She corrects your pronounciation gently. "Everything that is, or was, or might have been, has a spirit. Not all spirits are aware, of course, but there are many which are."

"Does this mean the spiders are spirits? They were called... pattern spiders?"

She nods. "Indeed. They are spirits of the Weaver." Kelly pauses, then, "Let me back up a moment. There are three primal, ancient forces in the universe. The Wyld, which is chaos and creation, the Weaver, which is order and structure, and the Wyrm, which was once balance, but is now entropy. It is because these ancient forces are out of balance that we must fight."

"The Wyrm is destruction, then?"

That brings a bit of a sigh from Kelly, "It's a ... bit more complicated than that, but yes, in a nutshell, it is." She smiles, "Once we have the basics covered, I will be happy to go into more detail. As much as I know, of course."
"Okay." Turning, Shay peers out a window, up at the sky. "When Cursor was in the Umbra, he was a big dog. Do we only turn into werewolves during the full moon or in the Umbra?"

Kelly stands up, apparently to demonstrate. "No, we can change at will." She demonstrates this right in front of you, the small soft-spoken blond woman gaining mass and fur, growing massive claws, her mouth pushing out into a muzzle, changing into a giant wolven shape. Her clothes seemingly magically disappear. She speaks in guttural growls that you can instinctivly understand. ~This form is called crinos, the war form. For obvious reasons.~

Shay's eyes get very big. He just nods. Then he seems more astute in inspecting your form. "I can understand the growling." 

Whisper's heavy head nods. She stands nearly nine feet in height, and has to bend over a little not to smash her head against the roof. Her fur is a pleasant grey in color with brown streaks. ~All Garou can understand the Garou language, from birth on. It is one of the many gifts Mother Gaia has given us.~ Even in crinos form, her growls are hushed. She shifts again, this time losing mass and falling to all fours, looking, for all intents and purpose a normal wolf. ~Harder to talk Garou. In lupus form. Wolf form.~ she explains.

Shay looks onwards, fascinated. "Coo." A little, boyish grin - he probably shouldn't be so casual about all this, not just fascinated. "So how do I do it?"

Kelly returns to homid form in a flash, half the time or less than it took to change to the other forms. And wow, her clothes are back on. "I will show you," she whispers, "But you'll want to stand up, most likely, and take off those clothes, or you'll lose them again." Before you can ask, she explains: "There is a ritual that can be used, so your clothes aren't destroyed or disappear when you change or go into the Umbra. You will probably be taught that at some point."

"Oh." He looks down at Cursor's clothes. "That'd, uh, be useful," he says with a smile. THen a sheepish expression, suddenly aware that he has to undress. "Um." After a few seconds of hesitation, he starts to strip. 

Kelly smiles, "That's good. You'll get used to the nakedness soon enough. It happens a lot around here. There is no reason to be ashamed of the body Gaia gave you."
By way of comment, Shay gestures to the ribs poking out of his clothes. 

Kelly has made note of that and, once again, she offers a warm embrace to the street kid. "Don't you worry. We'll get you in shape in no time, okay? Three square meals a day here. We take care of our cubs." She smiles softly.
"That sounds good," he returns with a bit of earnest pleasure. He returns the hug, though a little awkwardly, not really... used to it. "What do I do?"

"Close your eyes," she whispers, "And picture yourself. Then picture a wolf, and combine the two images in your mind. Your body will do the rest."

Shay nods. "Wait. Do I picture a certain color? Or do I just... get to be whatever color I'm supposed to be?"

She laughs, though still softly, "I don't think I've ever been asked that before. No, you just get to be what you are. Most Gaians are gray or brown."

"Okay." Shay closes his eyes, and pictures himself and a wolf jumping together. He yelps a bit as he begins to change, ending up on his four paws. He's a light almost blonde brown. He sniffs the air, and yrps.

Kelly smiles down at you. "See, it's just that simple. In days, you won't even have to think about it."

Shay wags his tail in response. Then starts sniffing at Kelly. He shifts back into his human form, blinking. "Woah. It's like I can see smells, almost."

Once more, Kelly gives you a hug. She's very touchy-feely, it seems. "It's incredible, isn't it? I love to see the look of amazement on the faces of new cubs."

"Yeah." If he could wag, he would. Then, scratching the back of his neck again, he looks around. "So, how did I get into the Umbra? And, what's it for?" Shay adds, "Cursor was doing errands there. What would he do, I mean."

Kelly cautions, before she answers, "You do need to be careful with your powers, until you have them under control, make sure you're with someone. But, you can enter the Umbra anywhere, anytime. You just have to push through the Gauntlet. Which is much easier to say than do. The easiest way, and place, to do it, is to use a reflective surface. Look at it, focus on the background, and you'll go right through. That's the best way to do it, really."

She continues, "As for what one would do there, well, there are many things. Seeking spirits, fighting the Wyrm, saving wayward young cubs," she chuckles. "The Umbra, the spirit world, is a reflection of the material world, the Realm." Parenthetically, she mentions, "There is actually more to the Umbra, but again, that's for later. Anyway, you can have a great effect on things in the material world by interacting with their spiritual counterparts. You can heal, or destroy, that way."

"Is that why you'd want to fight the wyrm in the Umbra? Becauze... they've corrupted something in our world, and we don't want to hurt whatever they're In in our world?" 

A bright smile comes over the woman's face. "Yes. Exactly. That is one very good reason. Sometimes you /can/ fight something in the Umbra that you can't even touch or see in the Realm."

Shay grins a little. "What, like a ghost?"

Kelly wells softly, "Sort of. Some humans call spirits that. Though they are rarely actually the souls of the deceased."

"Oh. Okay." He looks thoughtful. "SO um, if we're werewolves, and there are unicorns, and big spiders... what else is there?

"Like I said, most anything that is, was, or might have been. Animals, plants, places, concepts."

Shay looks back at you critically. "So, where are the care bears and Big Foot?"

Kelly is quite tolerant of your skepticism. "I believe that you might very well find many Sasquatch spirits in the Pacific northwest. You would be more likely to find a Hodag around here." She grins, "As for the, ah, 'Care Bears', I'm afraid that generally something has to have had more impact, or more belief in it to have a presence in the Umbra. I do know a couple of bear spirits, though. And they can be very nice. And very gruff."

Shay shrugs. "I just meant, are there other monsters or magical stuff out there that people believe in? Like... witches."

Kelly chuckles. "I suppose that depends on what one might mean by 'witches'. Are there humans who weild magic? A few, but they are not to be trusted, and you will most likely not ever encounter one, regardless." She pauses, "As for other things, you'll have to be more specific. I am afraid I have been away from human culture for some time, and I do not recall what they believe in or do not."

Shay nods, then shrugs. "Vampires?"

Kelly nods gravely, "Indeed. Vile things. They lurk in the cities, but most are fairly weak."

"Oh." He purses his lips. He met a homeless guy who swore up and down vampires were real, but well... 

Kelly clarifies, "At least, compared to us. They can be very nasty to humans. Don't hesitate to kill one, were you to meet one." She stands up. "We should get you settled in a room, hmm?"

Shay gives a bob of his head. "Yeah, that sounds good." He suddenly finds himself tired, as if the mention of having a room caused a ton of bricks to fall on him.

Kelly leads you up the stairs, then stops, considering. She points to a room. "That's where Anthony is, and we'll probably put you in there, in a night or two. But let's not bother him tonight. You can stay in my room." She pauses, "You'll just have to meet my son. I hope you don't mind."

Shay pauses, realizing he'll be sleeping with you. Then he blinks. "Your son sleeps in your room?"

Kelly nods. It doesn't seem that odd to her, apparently. "We only have the three bedrooms, so, I brought him over when Anthony arrived." She moves over down the hall towards the last room, where she knocks. "Peter," she calls out softly. "Peter, I am coming in and bringing a guest." There's a grunt, apparently of acknowledgement, and she opens the door slowly. "Come in, Shay," she murmurs. "This is my son, Peter." Standing in the back of the room, his head hung down, is a Garou, in the crinos form. He's only about six feet tall though, and, oddly, has a single horn curling out of his forehead. ~Hello,~ he says, shyly. ~I am Peter Climbs-Oaks, ahroun cub of the Children of Gaia.~

Shay peers over at the crinos garou, or namely, up at his horn. A questioning look is shot over to Kelly, before Shay gives a bob of his head. "Hey. I'm Shay, um..." He gropes for some sort of title.

Kelly looks quite embarrassed, frankly. For a number of reasons. "I cannot believe I forgot to tell you how to introduce yourself. You should say your name, then your deed name when you get one, then your rank, auspice and tribe. You would also say what pack you were in, and what sept you were from, if you were visiting somewhere. So, you would be 'Shay, theurge cub of the Children of Gaia.'

Shay ahs, giving a nod of his head. "Right." He smiles over at Peter. "Shay, theurge cub of the Children of Gaia." He goes about it casually, doing it the same way that Kelly had. 

Peter smiles in a bit of disconcerting way, then ducks his head. "You are wondering about the horn, yes?" Kelly asks. "You see, Peter is a metis. That means he is the product of the mating of two Garou, which is forbidden."

Shay just provides a reassuring smile, before glancing sidelong. "Howcome?"

Peter remains quiet, despite the fact that it's he that's being talked about. Kelly explains, "Because our offspring are deformed. Because it is against the Litany; our laws."

"Huh." Shay glances towards Peter, offering another smile. "You look okay. I mean, the horn's cool. Not as cool as the unicorn, but... it gives you somewhere to hang stuff on."

~That is very kind of you to say, Shay,~ Peter growls, softly. Kelly says, "I will explain the Litany in further detail soon. Very important stuff." She nods towards the large bed in the middle. "You may sleep in the bed. Get some rest. The next few weeks will be very full."

"Sounds good," replies the teen. He crosses over to the bed, glancing back at Peter, as though he were curious as to why he's in the big wolfman form.
Peter curls up on the floor, staying in that form. He looks up at you, as Kelly walks down to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Seeming to understand your confusion, he explains: ~I cannot change, yet. I am too young.~

"Oh." He looks sympathetic, but resists commenting. He realizes Peter may not be exposed to the outside world. Well, maybe at Halloween. But, maybe TV. Looking at the bathroom, he suddenly realizes he's going to bed with Kelly. While he's naked. He blushes.

Kelly appears a few minutes later, and as she walks in, she slips into lupus form, and pads over to her son, curling up against him. She doesn't seem to give the naked cub any thought whatsoever. She yawns, slowly, and indicates a good night should be had by all.
Shay blinks, then considers trying to sleep while a wolf. Then, deciding otherwise, he just crawls up onto the bed and stretches out. A real, nice bed. 
Sleep comes to the three Gaians fairly quickly, with no orgy in sight. The other Garou would be sorely disappointed.