October 25, 2006

The drapes are closed in the room, the sunlight from the outside sealed out so the cubs can sleep when Shay hears the tapping against his bed. "Come on, boy, wake up, I have important things to tell you," he hears a man speak with an upper class British accent.

"Nng." Shay sits up. He actually is rather easy to awaken - you don't get to be a heavy sleeper when you're sleeping on a street. He blinks up at the voice. British? That's new.

The cub blinks, his eyes filled with sleep as he focuses on the figure before him. He's an older man, with a bit of a belly and a snow white beard, as well as a pair of black rimmed glasses. He's dressed in an all-white suit and hat... and, really, looks something like a combination of Col. Sanders and Santa Claus. If he were a Brit. The man is standing near the closed door, and the floor is covered in what appears to be a layer of fog. On the other bed, Tony is sprawled out, sleeping the sleep of the innocent. The man leans forward on a silver-tipped black cane. "You shan't make the mistake I did," he says.

Trippy. Though, he doesn't remember taking anything, or falling into the Umbra. So, this is either a dream, or something has slipped into the cub house unannounced. Shay reaches a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck. "All right," he answers. "So, uh, what can I do for you?"

"Just pay attention," the man says, though it doesn't really feel like he was answering the cub's question, per se. "Pay attention to me, and learn from my mistakes. Know where the danger lies ahead of time, and be prepared. And for heaven's sake, don't let yourself get arrogant. Nedry was arrogant and look where it got him!"

"O...kay." Shay slides to the edge of his bed, probing the mist of the floor with his toe. "So, why me? Is it because I'm a theurge?" 

"Ah, yes, the questions... always the questions." Again he doesn't seem to be answering the cub directly, but looking past him. "The answers you need are in the words. That's where you'll find them." He turns his head. "If you'll excuse me, I believe that's my helicopter. Good day to you!" And that's when Shay wakes up. What's oddest about this isn't the dream, per se, but that it's the fifth night in a row he's had it.

"Ngg." He rubs his face. God, what a weird dream. The kid rolls over, looking at the window to see how early it is, and how long he can get away with staying underneath the sheets. The bissfully soft sheets. 

Tony jerks his head up from his pillows at the strained sound coming from Shay. He squints over at the other boy. "Whuzza? Huh?" Is he having another dream? he wonders. They've been making him wake up at odd times for days now. Tony isn't stupid enough to dismiss such things, even though he doesn't understand them. Given a theurge, he'd bet a dollar that it's some kinda spirit finding him.

The sun is still up, so it's not 'normal' waking time for Garou yet, but it must be getting close, as the smell of breakfast is wafting up from the floor below.

Shay is worried about it too. After the fifth time in a row, it's no longer a coincidence. Or because he had hawaiian pizza before bed (Hope has some odd taste in food). Regardless, Shay slithers out of bed at the inclination of food. He smiles apologetically at Tony, then shuffles to the bathroom to handle the morning grooming rituals.

Tony mumbles and waves a dismissive hand at Shay as his head falls back to the pillows. He wants to go back to sleep. He was having a rather nice dream, something nonsensicle but enjoyable, like winning the food lottery and given as much of any kind of food he wanted. Mmm, chocolate dipped shrimps. Now that he's awake, though, he makes a face. Soon he's up and behind Shay, doing the old shit, shower, and shave.

There is one good thing about having been awoken early -- the girls aren't up yet to occupy the bathroom for what seems like hours. So, the morning rituals go quick, and when the cubs start downstairs the sound of conversation can already be heard down there.

Shay perks an ear. Or at least tries to. Human ears just don't move all that much. He carefully moves towards the voices, head canted to pick up what's being said and all. 

Tony hears the voices as well. He peeks out from the bathroom door, then ducks back in to rinse his mouth out before trotting down the stairs. There's usually always something interesting to be heard from day-time visitors.

One voice is a lot easier to hear, at a normal volume ... that of the kinfolk woman, Katrikki. It's not really surprising that you can't hear what she's responding to, as it's hard to hear Whisper talk in the best of situations. The kinfolk's accented voice asks, over the sound of frying bacon, "So, how long was it that you and Rowan were being packmates, then?"

Shay shrugs. He's sorta familiar with Katrikki, but only vaguely. Rowan doesn't ring that many bells, either. Still, he moves down the stairs and into the living room, which is adjacent to the kitchen, and flops down onto one of the couches.

There's a moment of silence as Whisper responds, apparently, then there's a light, bright gentle laugh from the kinswoman. "Should I be waking cubs up now that breakfast is being ready?" Another laugh after a moment.

Hoisting himself up off the couch, the cub ambles on into the kitchen with a "Morning." It was a good enough cue anyways. He flops down at the table with a smile. "Smells good."

Kelly Whisper beams at the cub's appearance. "See," she murmurs, "They just appear at the smell," she explains to young blond foreign woman. Katrikki laughs again and nods. She turns to Shay and, after a quick curtsey, turns back to the stove, where she's finishing up some pancakes. Meanwhile Kelly joins him at the table. "Are you all right," she asks, concerned. "You look a little troubled."
Shay shakes his head. "Not troubled. Just confused. I keep getting this dream. It doesn't make any sense to me. Not scary or anything, just..." With a shrug, he gives Kelly the details. Maybe she can understand the significance of the Colenol Santa figure.

Tony enters a few seconds after Shay, stretching his arms out to either side and twisting to produce a few crackles from various joints. The smell of breakfast may seem odd to some as the sun sets; but the nocturnal lifestyle grows on you. The sight of daylight means it's time to go to sleep. Bright lights make him tired in a strange way now, too. Night is good. He certainly wouldn't say this aloud around this crowd, but he feels like a vampire in the stereotyped sense. "Evening, Kelly. Hey, Katrikki," he adds with a warm smile to the kinfolk. He's seen her several times and rather likes her and her strange accent.

Katrikki give another curtsey to the cub as she slips the cakes from the griddle into plates, following them with different sorts of toppings: syrup as well as fruit and cream. Under her breath so as not to interrupt Shay's story, she says, to the Uktena cub: "You Americans and your strange food," teasingly. Kelly on the other hand, gives just a cursory greeting to Tony as she listens intently to the other Gaian. As he finishes the odd tale, the adren gives a slow nod. "Yes," she whispers, "that sounds like a vision to me, especially repeated so. Sometimes it is hard to tell a dream from a vision. And they are never clear, never easy to interpret. But, like dreams, they come from both you and from beyond you, so look to both for your interpretations." She smiles at that.

Shay rubs the back of his neck. It's a little disconcerting knowing that his dreams could be visions. How are you supposed to know going on a treasure hunt with Scooby Doo will have some mystical baring on the future? Still, he watches Kelly with a wary, yet curious expression. "So, what do you think it means?"
Tony grins back at Katrikki in silent amusement as he takes a seat at the table. Strange food indeed. He decides to keep his fantasy of chocolate shrimp to himself. Leaning back, he listens to Shay and Kelly with great curiosity. He knew the other boy would ask her about it soon enough.

"Well," Kelly begins, "Visions are normally terribly personal, so hard for others to interpret. But I will try to help you walk through it. First, this English man, do you know who he is? Do you recognize him from anywhere? Search your memories." Katrikki, meanwhile, grows silent, serving food to the others before settling down herself.

There's definite thinking, thumbing through his memories. Grr. "I can just... remember the vaguest things." Shay cuts up his pancakes. "I don't know. I can't put a finger on him at all. Who sends these visions, anyways? Spirits? Gaia?" He shakes a piece of pancake at Kelly. "They ought to be a little less cryptic. Unless there's like, a rule about being secretive or something."

Tony begins to eat as well, not saying much right now. He's out of his speciality when it comes to spirits and dreams. Maybe spirits suffer from a form of dyslexia? Mmm. He figures it probably has more to do with modes of communication or something. "Are you British?" he asks Shay with an amused smile.

Kelly nods as she murmurs the answer to Shay's question: "Yes, spirits of all sorts send visions. And maybe Gaia Herself, if we were to be so blessed. But... that is just the way spirits speak. They are ... different ... than us, so things do not always translate well. You will grow used to it," here she smiles, "and there are many a theurge who herself has begun to speak in the cryptic manner of a spirit, much to her packmates' chagrin." A laugh comes from her throat. Like everything she says, it's very soft. "But it is good that you talk about your visions. Sometimes your packmates can have insights, or shared memories, which can help." So, she turns to Tony, even if the two cubs aren't technically packmates yet. "How about you? Does the man, or what he said, sound familiar to you?"

Shay blinks at the question. "Huh?" He says around a fork full. Then he remembers to chew and swallow. With a purse of his lips, the kid gets up and fetches a glass of milk. Gotta have milk with syrup. "No. Don't think so, anyways. "Shared memories? Like, we experienced the same things before we met? Or maybe they have some sort of... like, they were on TV or something?" He returns with the milk, and goes about gnawing on the pancakes. Mm. 

Tony just snickers. "No, you don't sound British," he muses. Looking up when he's addressed, the cub ponders the vision Shay described. He doesn't know any people who speak with a British accent. Doesn't know anyone with a big white beard or who carries a cane. Nor does the name Nedry ring any bells. "Nah. 'Fraid not," he eventually responds.

The idea that the man was on TV certainly sparks a memory; that is where Shay recognizes the man from. Kelly nods at Shay, "I meant more experiences you have had together as a pack, but, yes, since the shape of the vision is partially formed by your own mind, a common cultural background can help. I myself once had a vision brought to me by an animated skunk from a Disney film."

Shay narrows his eyes a little, thinking a bit. TV? Yes, that sounds familiar. But... who was he? "Hold on, I think I... may have something."

Tony suddenly jerks forward in his chair. "Not TV. A movie!" he blurts out, several things clicking into place in his head all at once. "Oh man. It's..." His eyes grow distant, letting his memories just wander, letting them go where they will and fall on the right spots. "Nedry! Dennis Nedry. Oh man, this guy, the cane, did it have an amber hilt at the top?"

Now that Anthony mentions it... yes, yes, it did.

Shay just stares at Tony a second. The movie title, or anything about it isn't clicking, but. "Um, yeah actually, it did." Weird. "But he said not to end up like Nerdy. Would be be thinking in the third person or something?

Tony can't help but laugh. "Craziness. You were dreaming of John Hammond. The old guy from Jurrasic Park." He grins at Shay. "That's pretty gay, man."

Shay's eyes bulge a little bit. "No way. Wait, me dreaming about Jurassic Park is gay? You knew the guy's *name*." The kid's best retort is to stick out his syruppy tongue. "Who's Nedry?"

Kelly chides Tony, "Be nice, Anthony," but otherwise is quiet, as is the other girl in the room, letting the cubs work this out.

Tony snickers again, but he plays nice. "Dennis Nedry. He was the computer techy they hired. He said he could run the park mostly by himself, and he really could. But he was bought out by another company, and he shut down the dinosaur fences so he could escape with dino embryos. And in an ironic twist, this very action let the dinos out, he crashed his jeep, and was eaten by a dilophosaurus."

That sounds about right; it's making sense. Especially why Hammond was in his dream; seems very appropriate for Pangea. "Okay. So we shouldn't be arrogant and think we can walk through everything smoothly like Nedry." Thinking. "He said to learn from his mistake, and the answers were in the words. I don't know what the words are. What was his mistake? Playing God? Toying with forces he didn't understand?"

That sounds about right; it's making sense. Especially why Hammond was in his dream; seems very appropriate for Pangea. "Okay. So we shouldn't be arrogant and think we can walk through everything smoothly like Nedry." Thinking. "He said to learn from his mistake, and the answers were in the words. I don't know what the words are. What was his mistake? Playing God? Toying with forces he didn't understand?"