Tapestries: Pablo - Wednesday, October 04, 2006, 7:00 PM

Once more, Bits speaks up, prompting, "I bet we could go on quests to find Gifts no one's ever seen before!" And again Kelly nods, "Yes, you can. And if you have an idea of something, you can ask a related spirit. But usually that sort of quest is reserved for the most experienced Garou. For the first couple ranks, it's probably best to stick to the common gifts; most everyone knows the names of their common breed, auspice and tribal gifts."

Kelly continues, "For example, there are three gifts common to homid cliaths. The first is Master of Fire, the second is Persuasion and the third is Smell of Man. Master of Fire allows a Garou to regenerate burns as if they were normal injuries. Persuasion allows a Garou to, well, be more persuasive when making arguments or statements, or to sound more credible. Smell of Man makes wild animals around you feel uneasy and nervous, but it makes domestic animals more friendly towards you."

Tony rubs his palms together, listening to Kelly and smiling brightly. "Very cool. But still, you haven't told us how we actually get our Gifts. Do we chose them? Or are they given randomly?"

Shay looks thoughtful. Which of those are the best? Or more useful? Though, that does warrant some questions too. "What's the significance of fire to garou? What else can hurt us? And will domestic animals freak out if we walk into the city?"

Kelly leans forward, nodding at the questions, though Shay's makes Kelly frown at herself for a moment -- the expression is fleeting, though. She answers Tony first: "You get to choose, in general. You'd summon, or have summoned for you, an appropriate spirit, then ask them to teach the gift you wanted to learn. In this case, all three gifts can be taught by an ancestor spirit, which is what I will be summoning tonight." She turns to Shay, then, "Fire is one of those things that, like silver and the claws of other supernatural creatures, can seriously injure a Garou, wounds that are harder to heal than others. And animals ... can smell that we are predators, so they normally act appropriately to that."

Tony sniffs at himself briefly. He'll need more experience with subtle distinctions of predator and prey scents. Even so, the idea of animals freaking out just because he's around them is kind of appealing. Makes him feel powerful, important. The information about fire makes him frown. "Well... at least it's not something strange like silver again. Fire is something we'd tend to avoid to begin with." He looks between Bits and Shay briefly, then goes on, "So... do we get a list?"

Shay, on the other hand, doesn't want the pets to go bonkers. Simply because it could mess up their cover. Though really, he's not sure which one is better; that one, or the persuasive gift. He has to wonder who it works on, though. 

Kelly laughs a little. "There's no overall list of gifts, no, Tony. They are kept in our heads. We're a people with more of an oral tradition than a written one, if you know what I mean by that. Those are the three most common gifts the homid-born have as cliaths. Your breed mentor, Gabby, will tell you of your tribal gifts, and your auspice mentor, whoever that may be, will tell you about your auspice gifts." She smiles again, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, then, I will summon the spirit..." She turns around and closes her eyes, taking a breath. 

Kelly begins to chant, murmuring and whispering words of praise to her ancestors, her arms moving slightly, her body weaving, dancing around a small circle, in a way that makes her look a little like she's on some sort of psychedelic drug, something Shay might easily recognize.

Tony clams up, listening to the chanting with his hair standing on end. That's a nice sound. Kelly's soft voice is perfect for sounding so ghostly and mysterious. Already feeling mildly bemused from being in the Umbra, this only makes it even more odd and shiver-inducing.

Shay watches, smiling to himself. Like Tony, he's enjoying the sight, but his spine is tingling for another reason. It's going to be him doing that, some time, and it is rather interesting. Though he's still pondering what Kelly can impart on him - what their tribe gifts could be. Since they're the same tribe, she should be able to help him.

This ritual can sometimes take hours, but Kelly's prepared most of it beforehand. So it isn't too much longer before a figure appears before her, materializing out of nowhere. Of course, as cubs, you probably weren't sure what to expect, but this probably wasn't it: a man, a human, as far as you can tell. He's short, maybe five and a half feet tall, and has a dark, sun-weathered complexion. He wears a simple brown robe tied with a rope around his belly, which has a bit of a paunch. His hair is trimmed short. When he appears, he looks around, before focusing on Kelly, and speaking to her, in English, but with a distinct accent: "Ah, Senora Whisper!" Kelly opens her eyes and smiles, "Padre, I had hoped it would be you who would answer my summons." She indicates the four cubs sitting behind her, "We have cubs, children of men, who are interested in learning their first gifts."

Tony stands up now as this man appears, looking surprised. This is a spirit? But... he's a dude. Spirits are supposed to be animals, he figured. Obviously he was wrong. Taking on a proper stand, hands folded neatly behind his back, he smiles amiably to this 'Padre' and bows politely when Kelly indicates him and the other cubs.

Hoisting up to his feet, Shay gives a shy wave over to the newcomer. His surprise is much like Tony's. Though, looking at the man, he looks like, like... when he was younger, he loved the "Sword and the Stone" and the guy is dressed like... Merlin.

Bits can't help but giggle a little bit. She's just that type of girl. "You look like Friar Tuck!" she says. Padre looks at her, with a bit of a confused look, then he smiles, and responds in that smooth Latin soap opera style sort of way: "You will forgive me, senorita, as my knowledge of what goes on in the Realm in the last 500 years is ... not good." He turns to face all of you, and speaks: "I am Father Jose Antonio Salazar, SJ. I am an ... ancestor spirit of the Children of Gaia. And it is a pleasure to meet you, young cubs."

Tony smiles and replies to the spirit. "I'm Tony Meyer, Philodox cub of the Uktena," he says. "I didn't think spirits would look like you. You do look like Friar Tuck," he agrees, laughing cheerfully. "But that's a good thing. He was a good friar. Nice to meet you, too."

"Hi, Shay, Theurge cub of the Children of Gaia." He slips hands into his pockets absently. "So, how did you become an ancestral spirit? Is this what happens to all Garou when they die?"

Bits and Hope perform introductions as well, and Padre seems pleased. He smiles wistfully when Tony introduces himself as an Uktena, but doesn't say why. He does answer the questions posed to him, though, while Kelly waits in the background. "I am an ancestor spirit, so I look like one of your ancestors!" he says, his eyes bright. Like the other spirits you've met, here, in the Umbra, he seems as real and substantial as any of you. To Shay, he smiles: "Ah, an excellent question, young Theurge, one I have pondered for many years. Especially given my ... temporal training as a priest, thoughts of the afterlife I find very intriguing. Garou, it seems, go neither to heaven nor to hell like humans. Normally, our spirits return to the next generation, at least that is what we believe. Or perhaps go to our tribal homelands in the Umbra here.

"As for me, however, I do not know. Am I actually the soul of Father Salazar, or am I merely a reflection, a rememberance of him? I prefer to think the former. It makes it easier to live, as it were, si?" He shakes his head a little, "On to the business at hand... which gift did you want to learn." The first response is from Hope: "I want Master of Fire," she seems quite sure of herself on this.

Tony likes Salazar immediately. The questions he poses are the kind he loves to ponder. What an existential conundrum he must face! Am I me, or am I a copy of who I think I am? Is there a difference? The young cub strokes at his downy beard thoughtfully, nodding slowly and seriously to Padre's advice. "I'll take Scent of Man," he decides on. It'll help him mingle back among human society when he needs to.

Shay blinks, looking thoughtful at this. Hell and Heaven exist? Well, why not, after all; with the Umbra, wouldn't something else exist, too? Though, that makes him wonder about who or what he once was? How would he know? "I want Scent of Man." He'd like persuasion, but well, first thing's first.

Bits is last to pipe up: "Ooh, ooh," she says, "I should learn Persuasion, then, so, you know, we know 'em all. As a pack." She grins and looks between the other cubs. This makes Padre smile ruefully, "Going to keep me all night, then, I see?" He chuckles deeply. "Well, teaching is a good way to spend the night." He turns to Kelly: "Senora Whisper, would you mind to start a fire for me, so I may teach the tall one to walk through it." Then, looking back to Tony and Shay, "The Smell of Man, hmm? It is a good, and useful gift sometimes, I agree. It has gained more popularity of late, I am given to understand." He reaches out his weather-beaten hands, and takes one of each of yours in his. "It is easy to learn, I think." He closes his eyes and you feel an energy move between the spirit and your bodies.

Tony raises his brows at Padre, then at Hope, giving her a sympathetic kind of grin. She has to walk through fire? Good luck with that one. He also gives Bits a broad smile, nodding his encouragement at her idea. "As a pack," he agrees, then turns back to the spirit. Lightly holding onto the offered hand, the boy frowns curiously. "OOh... wwweird," he huffs, squirming on the spot.

Shay wiggles a little bit at the surging energies. That's a really odd way to "learn" something, but then, how else would you teach someone how to smell different? "Is this how gifts are usually taught?"

Padre responds with a bit of a nod. "It's an immersive process, yes, I share some energy with you, then tell you how to focus it. It doesn't take long." With that, he releases your hands, and you feel a bit of a lingering connection to the spirit. "Now," he says, "you must focus on your human side, think of the cities, of the smell of people."