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Lessons.
Who: Cael, Dagny, Kaz - in passing: Olga, Melodie, Matt
When: Evening, 10.25.07
Where: Farmhouse / Barn
What: Kaz and Cael meet an awake Dag, then drag her out to the barn for some lessons in walking. (Log ganked from Cael. <3)
When: Evening, 10.25.07
Where: Farmhouse / Barn
What: Kaz and Cael meet an awake Dag, then drag her out to the barn for some lessons in walking. (Log ganked from Cael. <3)
Hours later. But really, it seems as though time had not passed at all. There is no slow, languid wakeup - no gentle stretch and inhale. There is only the sudden upright jolt and the open-mouthed gasp, and the falling away of sheets. Not too far, thankfully. She's still mostly covered. Her hair is a mess, hanging heavy over her face before one hand comes to move strands aside, eyes still wide. The hand moving hair now clamps onto the side of her head. Why does she have a headache? Wait.. The other hand feels the sheets and bed. Sometimes questions are best asked aloud, and so quietly she asks herself and her surroundings, "Where in the fuck.."
The attic is unfortunately cold, with the onset of colder temperatures and the night. It is also blessedly empty, for the time being. The bag that she dropped is plunked nearby, still slightly damp with puppy slobber. And, somewhere downstairs, there are vague clunks, and then the creak of someone coming up the stairs.
Creaking? Stairs. Someone's coming. Where is the bag. Bag. Bag. Bag. BAG! Blessed bag. Ew, it's damnp. The bag is dragged up and immediately it's rummaged into. Thank you mandatory gym class! Long years of practice allow the girl to dress herself quickly and easily. A pair of shorts, a sports bra, and a comfortable t-shirt are instantly donned and she digs even more, pulling out books, sketchbooks, pencils, bad tests. When she does not find what she's looking for, she sits back and stares at the bag, offended. How dare it. She has not yet thought to actually get out of the bed she was deposited into.
The creaking goes steadily louder until the door handle turns; the door creaks open, admitting the red-haired youth. "Hey, you awake?" Duh. He could hear the shuffling from the stairs down below. He's also a bit more awkward, now, though he does let the door shut, eyeing her a little warily. "Hey. I brought you some water, if you want it." A water bottle is held up; still sealed, and fresh from the fridge.
There is no phone in her hand, but a metal, mechanical pencil and she brandishes it as the door opens, one leg dangling off the side of the bed, the other still buried under sheets. While not wild, her eyes are a little wild, and her voice forced as she asks in a flat, but rushed tone, "Who're you?" She doesn't move, just.. looks menacing. With a pencil.
Cael doesn't move much closer, though he gives a lopsided smile at the pencil-dagger, a brow lofting. "Hey. Name's Cael. I'm newer here, like you. Have only been here a couple weeks, myself." He tosses the water bottle to a nearby bed, his manner completely casual, though the look he gives her is somewhat concerned. "They kinda suck at letting you know what's going on, huh. You alright?"
At 'newer here', she lets her eyes alone stray around to actually piece about the room before asking, "Where.. is /here/?" Her voice has softened a little, but is still forced. "And why was I naked?" Her brows furrow and she turns her head to survey the room a bit more, sliding eyes at him to see in her peripheral. The water is watched. Stared at, and then acted upon. The pencil is moved to her other hand and she picks the bottle up, getting her teeth around the cap and unscrewing it that way before drinking. "..thank you." She says, remembering her manners. "Who are 'they'?" About her well-being, she doesn't answer.
A 'they' comes clomping up the stairs. "Hey," Kaz says, at her most affable, as she pokes her head in the door, giving Dagny an assessing look. "You OK in there? Oh, hi Cael."
"You don't remember?" Cael asks, looking at her curiously, though he's interrupted from further explanation as Kaz comes up. He gives her a little half-smile. "Kaz-rhya," he greets, with a dip of his head. "We, um. Found someone out in the woods earlier. I guess someone said something to you already, though."
She looks from the boy to the newcomer and boggles. Whatever she inteded to say to Kaz is lost as Cael asks her a question. She boggles at him a moment, hand holding the pencil like a weapon lowering, relaxing on her thigh, and she looks down, seeking wisdom in the fibers of the sheet she's half under. "I.." She starts, looking cross for a moment, not at either of them. "What.."
"I only know we gotta newcomer. Did she have a kinfetch, d'you know? As f'memory, I take it she frenzied? 'Cause people often don't remember what happened around th' time they frenzy," Kaz explains. "Hi," she adds, to Dagny. "I'm Kaz. I'm kinda th' boss around here. You probably think we're totally insane, huh?"
"Yup. Mini-wolf. Showed up on the window behind Cedric-rhya while we were in the kitchen." Cael still watches Dagny, though he speaks to Kaz. "And, yeah, she did." He pulls a wry smile. "She nearly got me, too. Lucky I was in lupus, or I might not've been so lucky." A pause; "I dunno if anyone's talked to her, really, yet. She ran from Chris-rhya when we saw her."
There are words that she doesn't now flying around and she looks between Kaz and Cael as if they are aliens. The insane comment gets a look, but no nod. However, the boy's retelling warrants some emotion and erratic gesturing, sans pencil.. "He was screaming at me and he pointed a gun at me! Of COURSE I was gonna run, not to mention that yahoo called this bunch of wolves /PUPPIES/, and on top of that one was bumping my leg while I was trying to get away and.." Color starts to drain from her face, and the gestures cease. "Holy shit. Am I /dead/?"
"Ah. Get've Fenris." She smiles back, reflecting his smile. "Well, I'm all f'talkin'." (Truer words were never spoken.) She watches Dagny as she talks, face going a little stiller, and then quirks a very small, very tired, smile. "Ah, no. Quite alive. Just... everything's changed, is all. Can I say something that'll make you laugh at me, a /lot/? Or just think I'm insaner than I already was?"
Cael stuffs his hands in his pockets, giving a lopsided smile over to Dagny. "Hey, I don't /blame/ you for running. Just sayin'." He lapses into quiet as Kaz continues, nodding over to her, and adding, "You'll think it's crazy. I thought everyone was nuts and that I'd been kidnapped by a weirdos, at first." A grin. He apparently finds that amusing.
Being told she is, in fact, alive has the girl's shoulders relaxing quite a bit, and she quiets, nodding to Kaz as she asks to say something. "I'm not exactly in a position to stop you." Dag's gaze shifts over to Cael, and her expression is one of surprise. "..you're in my head."
"He's real new. Like, he ain't been here a month, even." Kaz shrugs. "So he really... gets your mindset." She takes a breath. "The thing is, not to cut to the chase or nothin', but you're a werewolf. Since this is the part where you then tell me I'm crazy... Cael, show her?"
From afar, Kazz says, via Mindspeak, a small chorus of one voice, in your head, "Just lupus, if you can."
Cael gives Kaz a look of surprise, opening his mouth to say -something-, but he clamps it shut and nods. He grins over to Dagny with a wink, and then takes a breath; the shift isn't as slick as some of the others, but clothes meld into fur as his form blurs and he shrinks, and soon enough there is a smallish red wolf on the floor, shaking out his ruff, tongue lolling in a wolf-smile.
Her attention is on Kaz until she's winked at, and then a brow raises. And then the other. The shift, slick or not, is surely surprising and the girl simply stares, lips working over a vowel or two as she puzzles, looks concerned, and then sad. "..I remember you, now. I'm.. sorry." She refers to snapping at him. First impressions are fun. To Kaz, she then asks, hesitantly, "If.. What you say is true.. can I do that?"
Kaz seems to have expected either violence or more disbelief, as it takes her a moment to switch gears. "Yeah, actually. You already have, in fact, you just don't remember it. You wanna see if we can talk you through it?"
New Brother wags his tail, glancing sideways up to Kaz before tilting his head toward the girl. This one forgives. Whether or not she picks up on the body language is another matter all together, but it isn't hard to tell that the young wolf isn't particularly grudge-holding.
Hal ascends the stairs to the attic. As he turns toward the door, he first spots an unknown wolf, seemingly young and in a good mood. As he advances more slowly, he notes Kaz standing by the door, and last a girl he's never seen before, lying on the bed. He stops just outside the door and looks questioningly at Kaz.
The head tilt actually makes the girl smile awkwardly. "..yea, but I don't.. Can I go /that/ sized?" She points at Cael, still looking at Kaz. She's a bit dazed, but more than panicky, she's infinitely curious. "I.. was the big thing before, I think. And then the rest of them were." She closes her eyes, hand covering her mouth. It's taking a minute. "You too." She points at Cael. "You got big. ER. Bigger. The big thing." There's another nearing the room, and Dag's attention shifts to him. "..how many of you are there?"
Vaguely, Kaz says, "Lots." Then she adds, less vaguely, "Hey, Hal, come on in, it's jus' a newbie. Actually, she's one've your crew." The metis tilts her head at Dagny. "Yes. He's in lupus. And you can /definitely/ shift to that. The big thing-- Crinos-- is, well, the war form. And it scares people. You don't gotta do that just now."
Hal enters, eyes widening at Kaz's comment. He turns to the girl and formally says, "Hal Jenssen, Modi cub of the Fenrir, also called Leaps-From-the-Den. Welcome." He turns to the cub in lupus and says, "To you as well."
New Brother slips a glance back to Hal before looking back to Dagny and padding over and plunking down in front of her, down to his haunches. War-form is big, clumsy. Four-legs is fun, easy. He chuffs, looking back to Kaz. Here or barn? He's clearly feeling a little uneasy about breaking the rules of the farmhouse, but, hey. He got told by an elder.
New Brother, Ahroun cub of the Fianna, the wolf indicates afterward to Hal.
Hal watches New Brother and while he doesn't smile, he does ease up a touch. In a fairly casual tone he says, "Ah, yes. Your tribemate Matt just told me about you. Well met, New Brother."
Kaz hesitates. "Good point. F'one thing, she can run around more in the barn. To Dagny, she asks, "You willin' t'come down t'th' Barn with us? Then maybe we can show you how to shift in like, a more spacious area. Modi, by the way, means he was born under the full moon, which I can explain more about what /that/ means later."
With the wolf so close, Dag's hand extends hesitantly toward the top of Cael's head, but pauses. "Is.. it okay to touch?" She asks the wolf, then glances at Hal. "Oh." Introductions. "I'm Dagny Eriksen. Guess you can call me Dag for short." You bunch of weirdos. "I.. don't know anything but that right now. Could tell you my shoe size, but somehow I don't think that counts." To Kaz she blinks, considers, and nods. "I could do that, I think." Dazed, is a good word for her mood and overall attitude. Beyond that, she seems to go with the flow easily.
Kaz jerks her head. "C'mon," she says, and leads the way downstairs, limping.
New Brother eyes the descending hand, and then nudges upward to lick her forearm in answer, though he's up to his paws and bouncing back toward the door a moment later. He slides back up into homid as he nears the door, shrugging his clothes back into place. "You'll like it," he grins to Dag, before heading out himself.
Dagny slips out of the bed, bare feet connecting firmly with the ground. The bag is left behind and she follows the now-boy, hands on the walls and on the wall of the stairs as she descends.
It takes Olga a couple seconds to realize what Melodie's talking about, she follows the girls eyes out the window and up though she can't see it from where she sits. "Yeah," she agrees with a strange earnestness that hasn't yet touched her voice, a sense of honesty, no irony, no dissembling. "Jus' isn't the same, in the city. I remember once, it was in the desert - California maybe? Nevada? I's just passing through, anyway. But the moon was the thinnest and biggest I've ever seen it, and it cut through the sky like a knife, just for a second: I swear I saw Phoebe's foot just glance across the sand. Damndest thing." That last sentence is separated from the others by just a hair of a pause, and with it all the distance and dryness returns, and she takes another sip of her beer.
Kaz leads a small platoon of cubs downstairs, and toward the door. "Hey," she tells the assembled living multitudes cheerfully, as she goes, "Newbie. Don't mind us, we're gonna go show her some stuff in the barn."
Matt gives a small 'ooh?' to Olga, looking back, before looking over to Kaz. He gives a simple wave, "Cole-Rhya approves of all Laora-Rhya related plans Kaz. Her challange ends tommarow, so I'll see her before things are done." also waving to Cael.
Cael trots downstairs, and waves in the vague all-encompassing direction of the gathered. "Hey Matt. Melodie-rhya." Then, toward the door he goes, following Kaz.
Kaz shoots a thumb's up to Matt, and then is out the door.
Melodie gives the new girl a big grin as they pass by. "Good luck, chica!"
The living room - and inded all of downstairs, has a definite odour to it that it lacked before the cubs went up and the Gnawer arrives. At least the smell of feet and old food is only in the air, and hasn't yet permeated the furniture.
Dagny follows behind Cael, stairs navigated slowly but surely. The presence of more people has her looking up and staring, then offering a light, baffled wave. "Howdy." She says nervously, nearly gluing herself to Cael on her way to the door.
Once Kaz gets to the Barn, she pauses a bit to let her eyes adjust to the light, and then moves inward a bit. "OK, so yeah. You clearly would like t'be talked through the process, huh?"
Cael follows Kaz into the barn, heading over to perch himself on a near by haybale, sitting cross-legged and getting comfortable, just prepared to watch for the time being.
Once in the barn, Dag gives Cael some necessary space, after nearly walking on top of the boy on her way there. "I don't dare try on my own. My luck, I'd turn into a chicken, or something." She replies, looking about.
Kazz asks Cael, "Not t'use you as a demonstration model or something, but, uh, could you shift again? It'll make it easier f'her. B'cause," she says, mostly to Dagny, "What I figure now is that since you've already shifted, it oughta be easier for you. So just... visualize. Visualize yourself as a wolf. With ears like his, with a tail like his. Gettin' the scent of everything in your nostrils, sharp, clean. Runnin' with the wind, with y'pack brothers."
Cael nods. "No prob." And, in an odd motion, he leans forward, and goes up through the forms and all the way down to lupus again, and he hops down off the bale of hay to pad over to Dagny, steps light, in a good mood despite the full moon. He chuffs lightly at Dag, pausing a few steps in front of her.
Dagny watches Cael like a hawk, listening to Kaz's instruction. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and sinks to her knees. Think, Dag. Think. Where Cael may not be slick, Dag is like sand paper. The process is not pretty, and it's slow, accompanied by the gritting of teeth and the rippling of flesh. Little by little, however, her body adjusts, brownish fur piling up and over. It isn't until she can smell Cael's breath as he stands closer to her that she finally /slumps/ into the form fully. She's on her belly when the movements stop. There's a chuff back for Cael, though this one is more 'Bout time', than greeting. She opens her eyes, ears slowly flagging forward, curiously.
Kaz's grin is warm, and enthusiastic. "/You/," she says, "Rock my little world. G'head'n explore f'a'bit, an' poke me when and if you wanna shift back."
New Brother ears prick forward, and he lets out a yip, prancing. You did it! He looks a mix between surprised and pleased, and he leans forward to nudge the side of her muzzle with his nose, and then ducks back in a prancing sort of dance. Excited, he is. She is very fast, he notes to Kaz, tail wagging.
Dagny blinks once or twice, wide gaze slipping to Kaz a moment. An involuntary wag thumps against the ground and she sort of grumbles to herself, toes being played with in the dirt before she tries to push herself up. This part isn't as easy. Her legs are stubborn. The back ones she pushes up first, tail dangling limply, her forebody still in the dirt, and now shoved there even more since her butt made it up. /Hard!/ She moves her hind feet a little, pushing her chin along in the dirt for a bit before her front legs scrabble and begin to move her upward. She stands there for a moment, head hanging like a vulture's before lifting.
Kaz laughs, but it's not a mocking noise. It's an acknowledgement, really, more than anything else. "It /is/ fuckin' hard, at first, or can be. But y'gettin' it. New muscles bein' used, after all..."
New Brother stands, watching, his head tilting to the side. He doesn't move closer or move to help, though he does squirm a little at her progress. He remembers this all too well, after all.
Dagny moves her head slowly, looking at Kaz, then at the red one, her head bobbing with the motion. Her chin dips and she glances between both front paws. Which?, she asks roughly, looking utterly lost.
Kaz looks, it must be said, confused. "Which what? Which direction? Which paw first?"
New Brother tilts his head a little, seeming confused as well, though he glances sideways at Kaz. Ponder. Ears flick back, then forwards, and then he chuffs lightly at her to get her attention. Watch. He then ambles slowly, his movements a little stifflegged and exaggerated, paws pressing slowly to the ground before lifting again.
Paw, is the answer she gives, then turns to look at Cael, head lowering and nose pointing at his feet, like getting that much closer will help. The brown wurfs in reply to Cael's example and raises one foot, the fore left. The concentration in which she sets it down a few inches forward is sort of comical. Then the opposite backleg repeats the process. She snorts at her feet. Get easy?
Kaz beams at Cael. Then she nods at the newcomer. "It really does. It also helps if you let your instincts do some stuff, instead of overthinking it so hard. Just... let things work th' way they're supposed to. Start thinkin' about your laundry, or something."
New Brother pauses after she starts moving, then prances in front of her, ducking into a play-bow. Catch me, he challenges, though it's playful. Don't think. Just come get me. He wuffs, tail wagging. Dagny-yuf is wolf. Run like wolf, play like wolf.
Laundry? Dagny puzzles at Kaz for a moment, canting her head, then looks at Cael, ears flipped forward. No laugh, is her reply as she puffs herself a moment, focusing on where Cael goes with her eyes. It's like watching a giraffe or something. Her legs kind of awkwardly negotiate the ground in a few more awkward steps as she moves toward him. The first few are embarrassing to watch, but at least she's /moving/.
"I just meant, /think/ about something else, and let y'body take over doin' the work. But you've got it, kinda." Kaz doesn't shift herself. Just slides down one of the poles and watches the two, smiling softly.
New Brother slinks backward, still half in a bow, which is somewhat comical in itself, with his butt in the air and tail wagging. That's it! His ears remain forward, and his jaws part to let his tongue loll. This one was like that too, not long ago. He fell on his face lots.
The tip of Dag's tongue is poking out between her teeth as she ambles forward. It's not quite a walk, it's more of a shuffle, but it's getting a little faster, and her feet are leaving the dirt more and more. She stops looking at her feet and looks at Cael. Show walk? Walk normal.
New Brother perks, getting to his feet and straightening, tilting his head somewhat. However, he turns broadside to her, and picks up an easy walk, walking in a wide circle around her. Just like two-legs. But with back legs, too.
Kaz continues to watch, either amused or impressed. Possibly both.
She watches carefully, chin bobbing as she watches the gait. The shuffle lengthens out, carefully at first, then more pronounced. It's an exaggerated walk, but at least the motions are looking right. They just need to feel right. So, she falls in behind Cael, matching the tempo and, well, /walking/. The brown's tail actually starts to wag at the very end with each step. Right? She asks, looking toward Kaz while she continues to walk.
Kaz flashes her a thumb's up. "'s good work you're doin', there."
New Brother seems amused, tail flagging and wagging as he parades about. He looks up to Kaz with a wolfy grin, and the cub looks generally pleased. Whether it's because of Dagny's progress or the prospect of not being /the/ new guy is unknown. Perhaps it's a bit of both.
Faster. Dag flicks her chin, chuffing as she does so. Someone is eager. Her tail flip-flaps behind her, feet in the dirt and getting more and more comfortable by the passing minutes. They are long ones, but it's progress.
New Brother looks back, ears perking, and he extends his stride, not quite jogging, but close, and he relaxes his stride into a more bouncing sort, so Dag is treated to a dancing wolfy-butt in front of her. Oy.
Dagny wrfs, snorting at the bouncing heiny and tail, but manages to keep up. She mimics the bounce, moving weight over the pads of her feet. This is okay. Run how? Is what she asks next, ambitious. Hard?
New Brother pauses, ears flicking. Run is more hard, he admits, though he spurs up into an ambling lope, striding out a small distance away before he turns to face her. Kaz-rhya is right. Pretend like following wolf-pack; have to run to keep up. Okay, now he's just mimicking words from Aubrey. But, hey. They sound good!
Dagny dips her head in acknowledgment, watching carefully. Keep up, she confirms, taking a moment to walk sideways to give him a clear track. Show how, will follow. Her head tilts though. What rhya?
"Rhya's a respectful appendix, like Mister," Kaz says. "So Cael, he's not a rhya, 'cause he's a cub like you. But I am, 'cause I'm older."
New Brother pauses, looking to Kaz as she explains, and flicks his ears forward for a moment to let her finish. And then, he prances around in a half circle, chuffing lightly, and picks up a light trot that extends quickly into a lope. Even with the slow pace, he's out of room before too long, and he looks up to Kaz with a tail-wag. Like putting on a show.
Dagny wrfs at Kaz, bobbing her head. Kaz-rhya, she tests out, and bobs again. As Cael moves again, she watches intently, then walks over to where he started. Her rump wiggles as her back feet test the dirt and she kind of lurches forward, paws digging into dirt in an awkward walk-trot, and then into a two blink run that ends with Dag going splat. Again? She boggles at Cael, one ear sticking out to the side.
New Brother seems amused, and trots over alongside Dag to nose her shoulder in passing as he breaks into a light run that circles about and ends a small distance away. May take a little while to learn, he admits. This one spent many days in the barn doing this. Just takes practice.
Kaz agrees with that, it seems. "You din't learn to walk as a human in th' space've 20 minutes, after all. You wanna shift back, get some ground rules down?"
Kaz's question comes at the right time. Dag looks to her and dips her chin. Rules, she acknowledges. Shift how?
New Brother seems to approve of that, and he trots back over to Kaz, seeming a little out of breath, though not terribly. A moment, and then he blurs and slips back up to homid, himself.
As Kaz talks, she's rummaging in her coat pocket. "Basically, what you gotta do is just visualize yourself as a human. Face, legs, body. Bein' able to see better, but not smell as well. Your hair. Everything about you that you remember. And just... concentrate on /being/ it." She finally produces, after finding a Coke and her flashlight, a thin pair of sweats and a t-shirt. She tosses them onto a haybale, adding apologetically, "Sorry, I kinda forgot about the clothing part, before you shifted."
Dagny glances around and finds the pile that had been her gym clothes. Nuts, she expresses, then gets up and walks to the haybale, then behind it. It's a few moments before the brown fur swells up into visibility, then shrinks down again. Shifting, so far, is so ungraceful. A pale hand reaches up, groping the top of the haybale before finding the offered clothes, and a very human, "Thank you." Is muttered. Followed swiftly by, "Kaz-rhya." Must remember manners. A moment later and the girl steps out into the open barn, shrugging. "Well, I'm not going to be chasing rabbits anytime soon.. It's a start, though. Frustrating, though. Learning to walk all over again." She looks between Cael and Kaz. "Can we learn rules in the house, please?" She asks, politely. "It's cold, and I'm running low on garments."
Kaz mutters, "Sounds like a plan. That way I can get s'more Coke." She limps out, holding the door for the cubs.
Cael turns his back to her as she shifts into nakedness, looking down the barn and politely keeping his eyes in another direction altogether. "It takes a little while," he acknowledges quietly, tilting his head toward her as she comes back around, and he turns toward her once he notes that she is redressed. He shoves his hands in his pockets and follows Kaz out, a little smile on his face.
Dagny crosses arms over her chest, though not due to pouting, but it /is/ quite cold, and there is polite company about. The door held is bee-lined for, but she stops when she nears Cael. "How come your clothes don't explode?" No jealousy in her tone, just curiosity.
Slipping out the door to follow Kaz to the house, Cael bumps the door with his heel to allow her to follow. "Aubrey-rhya dedicated them for me. Just means they go with you when you shift, instead of having to change. It's convenient." He shoots her a wry grin. "I only got mine dedicated about a week ago. It's a /real/ pain in the ass."
Dagny steps through and waits for him, listening. "Dedicated, huh? Sounds like a restrictive wardrobe." She jokes a little, smirking halfway. "And she said you were new, too. When did it happen to you?" She asks, peering at the younger boy, looking a little young herself. "Were you as scared as I feel?"
Cael casts a sideways glance up at the full moon for a moment before speeding his step, wanting to get inside. This 'anxiety' the moon stirs is not a pleasant feeling. "About three weeks ago," he replies after a moment. "It took me a while to believe it. It's fucked up, in a lot of ways. I'm still scared, kind of. And being away from the family sucks." His voice drops, and he casts a quite serious look over to her. "You're gonna learn a lot in the next few days. It's gonna seem like way too much, and they're gonna pack your head /full/. Just know it does get better."
She's not looking at him as the wave of seriousness descends. She's looking at the ground. "It will be all right, I think." Either convincing herself or soothing him, who knows. She nods, though, and looks at him, kind of timidly. "Could we get something to eat, y'think?" As she walks toward the main house.
The seriousness breaks, and the red-haired youth grins. "Hell yes," he replies, pushing open the sliding door, casting a smirk in her direction. "I just /really/ don't suggest the brownies."
The attic is unfortunately cold, with the onset of colder temperatures and the night. It is also blessedly empty, for the time being. The bag that she dropped is plunked nearby, still slightly damp with puppy slobber. And, somewhere downstairs, there are vague clunks, and then the creak of someone coming up the stairs.
Creaking? Stairs. Someone's coming. Where is the bag. Bag. Bag. Bag. BAG! Blessed bag. Ew, it's damnp. The bag is dragged up and immediately it's rummaged into. Thank you mandatory gym class! Long years of practice allow the girl to dress herself quickly and easily. A pair of shorts, a sports bra, and a comfortable t-shirt are instantly donned and she digs even more, pulling out books, sketchbooks, pencils, bad tests. When she does not find what she's looking for, she sits back and stares at the bag, offended. How dare it. She has not yet thought to actually get out of the bed she was deposited into.
The creaking goes steadily louder until the door handle turns; the door creaks open, admitting the red-haired youth. "Hey, you awake?" Duh. He could hear the shuffling from the stairs down below. He's also a bit more awkward, now, though he does let the door shut, eyeing her a little warily. "Hey. I brought you some water, if you want it." A water bottle is held up; still sealed, and fresh from the fridge.
There is no phone in her hand, but a metal, mechanical pencil and she brandishes it as the door opens, one leg dangling off the side of the bed, the other still buried under sheets. While not wild, her eyes are a little wild, and her voice forced as she asks in a flat, but rushed tone, "Who're you?" She doesn't move, just.. looks menacing. With a pencil.
Cael doesn't move much closer, though he gives a lopsided smile at the pencil-dagger, a brow lofting. "Hey. Name's Cael. I'm newer here, like you. Have only been here a couple weeks, myself." He tosses the water bottle to a nearby bed, his manner completely casual, though the look he gives her is somewhat concerned. "They kinda suck at letting you know what's going on, huh. You alright?"
At 'newer here', she lets her eyes alone stray around to actually piece about the room before asking, "Where.. is /here/?" Her voice has softened a little, but is still forced. "And why was I naked?" Her brows furrow and she turns her head to survey the room a bit more, sliding eyes at him to see in her peripheral. The water is watched. Stared at, and then acted upon. The pencil is moved to her other hand and she picks the bottle up, getting her teeth around the cap and unscrewing it that way before drinking. "..thank you." She says, remembering her manners. "Who are 'they'?" About her well-being, she doesn't answer.
A 'they' comes clomping up the stairs. "Hey," Kaz says, at her most affable, as she pokes her head in the door, giving Dagny an assessing look. "You OK in there? Oh, hi Cael."
"You don't remember?" Cael asks, looking at her curiously, though he's interrupted from further explanation as Kaz comes up. He gives her a little half-smile. "Kaz-rhya," he greets, with a dip of his head. "We, um. Found someone out in the woods earlier. I guess someone said something to you already, though."
She looks from the boy to the newcomer and boggles. Whatever she inteded to say to Kaz is lost as Cael asks her a question. She boggles at him a moment, hand holding the pencil like a weapon lowering, relaxing on her thigh, and she looks down, seeking wisdom in the fibers of the sheet she's half under. "I.." She starts, looking cross for a moment, not at either of them. "What.."
"I only know we gotta newcomer. Did she have a kinfetch, d'you know? As f'memory, I take it she frenzied? 'Cause people often don't remember what happened around th' time they frenzy," Kaz explains. "Hi," she adds, to Dagny. "I'm Kaz. I'm kinda th' boss around here. You probably think we're totally insane, huh?"
"Yup. Mini-wolf. Showed up on the window behind Cedric-rhya while we were in the kitchen." Cael still watches Dagny, though he speaks to Kaz. "And, yeah, she did." He pulls a wry smile. "She nearly got me, too. Lucky I was in lupus, or I might not've been so lucky." A pause; "I dunno if anyone's talked to her, really, yet. She ran from Chris-rhya when we saw her."
There are words that she doesn't now flying around and she looks between Kaz and Cael as if they are aliens. The insane comment gets a look, but no nod. However, the boy's retelling warrants some emotion and erratic gesturing, sans pencil.. "He was screaming at me and he pointed a gun at me! Of COURSE I was gonna run, not to mention that yahoo called this bunch of wolves /PUPPIES/, and on top of that one was bumping my leg while I was trying to get away and.." Color starts to drain from her face, and the gestures cease. "Holy shit. Am I /dead/?"
"Ah. Get've Fenris." She smiles back, reflecting his smile. "Well, I'm all f'talkin'." (Truer words were never spoken.) She watches Dagny as she talks, face going a little stiller, and then quirks a very small, very tired, smile. "Ah, no. Quite alive. Just... everything's changed, is all. Can I say something that'll make you laugh at me, a /lot/? Or just think I'm insaner than I already was?"
Cael stuffs his hands in his pockets, giving a lopsided smile over to Dagny. "Hey, I don't /blame/ you for running. Just sayin'." He lapses into quiet as Kaz continues, nodding over to her, and adding, "You'll think it's crazy. I thought everyone was nuts and that I'd been kidnapped by a weirdos, at first." A grin. He apparently finds that amusing.
Being told she is, in fact, alive has the girl's shoulders relaxing quite a bit, and she quiets, nodding to Kaz as she asks to say something. "I'm not exactly in a position to stop you." Dag's gaze shifts over to Cael, and her expression is one of surprise. "..you're in my head."
"He's real new. Like, he ain't been here a month, even." Kaz shrugs. "So he really... gets your mindset." She takes a breath. "The thing is, not to cut to the chase or nothin', but you're a werewolf. Since this is the part where you then tell me I'm crazy... Cael, show her?"
From afar, Kazz says, via Mindspeak, a small chorus of one voice, in your head, "Just lupus, if you can."
Cael gives Kaz a look of surprise, opening his mouth to say -something-, but he clamps it shut and nods. He grins over to Dagny with a wink, and then takes a breath; the shift isn't as slick as some of the others, but clothes meld into fur as his form blurs and he shrinks, and soon enough there is a smallish red wolf on the floor, shaking out his ruff, tongue lolling in a wolf-smile.
Her attention is on Kaz until she's winked at, and then a brow raises. And then the other. The shift, slick or not, is surely surprising and the girl simply stares, lips working over a vowel or two as she puzzles, looks concerned, and then sad. "..I remember you, now. I'm.. sorry." She refers to snapping at him. First impressions are fun. To Kaz, she then asks, hesitantly, "If.. What you say is true.. can I do that?"
Kaz seems to have expected either violence or more disbelief, as it takes her a moment to switch gears. "Yeah, actually. You already have, in fact, you just don't remember it. You wanna see if we can talk you through it?"
New Brother wags his tail, glancing sideways up to Kaz before tilting his head toward the girl. This one forgives. Whether or not she picks up on the body language is another matter all together, but it isn't hard to tell that the young wolf isn't particularly grudge-holding.
Hal ascends the stairs to the attic. As he turns toward the door, he first spots an unknown wolf, seemingly young and in a good mood. As he advances more slowly, he notes Kaz standing by the door, and last a girl he's never seen before, lying on the bed. He stops just outside the door and looks questioningly at Kaz.
The head tilt actually makes the girl smile awkwardly. "..yea, but I don't.. Can I go /that/ sized?" She points at Cael, still looking at Kaz. She's a bit dazed, but more than panicky, she's infinitely curious. "I.. was the big thing before, I think. And then the rest of them were." She closes her eyes, hand covering her mouth. It's taking a minute. "You too." She points at Cael. "You got big. ER. Bigger. The big thing." There's another nearing the room, and Dag's attention shifts to him. "..how many of you are there?"
Vaguely, Kaz says, "Lots." Then she adds, less vaguely, "Hey, Hal, come on in, it's jus' a newbie. Actually, she's one've your crew." The metis tilts her head at Dagny. "Yes. He's in lupus. And you can /definitely/ shift to that. The big thing-- Crinos-- is, well, the war form. And it scares people. You don't gotta do that just now."
Hal enters, eyes widening at Kaz's comment. He turns to the girl and formally says, "Hal Jenssen, Modi cub of the Fenrir, also called Leaps-From-the-Den. Welcome." He turns to the cub in lupus and says, "To you as well."
New Brother slips a glance back to Hal before looking back to Dagny and padding over and plunking down in front of her, down to his haunches. War-form is big, clumsy. Four-legs is fun, easy. He chuffs, looking back to Kaz. Here or barn? He's clearly feeling a little uneasy about breaking the rules of the farmhouse, but, hey. He got told by an elder.
New Brother, Ahroun cub of the Fianna, the wolf indicates afterward to Hal.
Hal watches New Brother and while he doesn't smile, he does ease up a touch. In a fairly casual tone he says, "Ah, yes. Your tribemate Matt just told me about you. Well met, New Brother."
Kaz hesitates. "Good point. F'one thing, she can run around more in the barn. To Dagny, she asks, "You willin' t'come down t'th' Barn with us? Then maybe we can show you how to shift in like, a more spacious area. Modi, by the way, means he was born under the full moon, which I can explain more about what /that/ means later."
With the wolf so close, Dag's hand extends hesitantly toward the top of Cael's head, but pauses. "Is.. it okay to touch?" She asks the wolf, then glances at Hal. "Oh." Introductions. "I'm Dagny Eriksen. Guess you can call me Dag for short." You bunch of weirdos. "I.. don't know anything but that right now. Could tell you my shoe size, but somehow I don't think that counts." To Kaz she blinks, considers, and nods. "I could do that, I think." Dazed, is a good word for her mood and overall attitude. Beyond that, she seems to go with the flow easily.
Kaz jerks her head. "C'mon," she says, and leads the way downstairs, limping.
New Brother eyes the descending hand, and then nudges upward to lick her forearm in answer, though he's up to his paws and bouncing back toward the door a moment later. He slides back up into homid as he nears the door, shrugging his clothes back into place. "You'll like it," he grins to Dag, before heading out himself.
Dagny slips out of the bed, bare feet connecting firmly with the ground. The bag is left behind and she follows the now-boy, hands on the walls and on the wall of the stairs as she descends.
It takes Olga a couple seconds to realize what Melodie's talking about, she follows the girls eyes out the window and up though she can't see it from where she sits. "Yeah," she agrees with a strange earnestness that hasn't yet touched her voice, a sense of honesty, no irony, no dissembling. "Jus' isn't the same, in the city. I remember once, it was in the desert - California maybe? Nevada? I's just passing through, anyway. But the moon was the thinnest and biggest I've ever seen it, and it cut through the sky like a knife, just for a second: I swear I saw Phoebe's foot just glance across the sand. Damndest thing." That last sentence is separated from the others by just a hair of a pause, and with it all the distance and dryness returns, and she takes another sip of her beer.
Kaz leads a small platoon of cubs downstairs, and toward the door. "Hey," she tells the assembled living multitudes cheerfully, as she goes, "Newbie. Don't mind us, we're gonna go show her some stuff in the barn."
Matt gives a small 'ooh?' to Olga, looking back, before looking over to Kaz. He gives a simple wave, "Cole-Rhya approves of all Laora-Rhya related plans Kaz. Her challange ends tommarow, so I'll see her before things are done." also waving to Cael.
Cael trots downstairs, and waves in the vague all-encompassing direction of the gathered. "Hey Matt. Melodie-rhya." Then, toward the door he goes, following Kaz.
Kaz shoots a thumb's up to Matt, and then is out the door.
Melodie gives the new girl a big grin as they pass by. "Good luck, chica!"
The living room - and inded all of downstairs, has a definite odour to it that it lacked before the cubs went up and the Gnawer arrives. At least the smell of feet and old food is only in the air, and hasn't yet permeated the furniture.
Dagny follows behind Cael, stairs navigated slowly but surely. The presence of more people has her looking up and staring, then offering a light, baffled wave. "Howdy." She says nervously, nearly gluing herself to Cael on her way to the door.
Once Kaz gets to the Barn, she pauses a bit to let her eyes adjust to the light, and then moves inward a bit. "OK, so yeah. You clearly would like t'be talked through the process, huh?"
Cael follows Kaz into the barn, heading over to perch himself on a near by haybale, sitting cross-legged and getting comfortable, just prepared to watch for the time being.
Once in the barn, Dag gives Cael some necessary space, after nearly walking on top of the boy on her way there. "I don't dare try on my own. My luck, I'd turn into a chicken, or something." She replies, looking about.
Kazz asks Cael, "Not t'use you as a demonstration model or something, but, uh, could you shift again? It'll make it easier f'her. B'cause," she says, mostly to Dagny, "What I figure now is that since you've already shifted, it oughta be easier for you. So just... visualize. Visualize yourself as a wolf. With ears like his, with a tail like his. Gettin' the scent of everything in your nostrils, sharp, clean. Runnin' with the wind, with y'pack brothers."
Cael nods. "No prob." And, in an odd motion, he leans forward, and goes up through the forms and all the way down to lupus again, and he hops down off the bale of hay to pad over to Dagny, steps light, in a good mood despite the full moon. He chuffs lightly at Dag, pausing a few steps in front of her.
Dagny watches Cael like a hawk, listening to Kaz's instruction. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and sinks to her knees. Think, Dag. Think. Where Cael may not be slick, Dag is like sand paper. The process is not pretty, and it's slow, accompanied by the gritting of teeth and the rippling of flesh. Little by little, however, her body adjusts, brownish fur piling up and over. It isn't until she can smell Cael's breath as he stands closer to her that she finally /slumps/ into the form fully. She's on her belly when the movements stop. There's a chuff back for Cael, though this one is more 'Bout time', than greeting. She opens her eyes, ears slowly flagging forward, curiously.
Kaz's grin is warm, and enthusiastic. "/You/," she says, "Rock my little world. G'head'n explore f'a'bit, an' poke me when and if you wanna shift back."
New Brother ears prick forward, and he lets out a yip, prancing. You did it! He looks a mix between surprised and pleased, and he leans forward to nudge the side of her muzzle with his nose, and then ducks back in a prancing sort of dance. Excited, he is. She is very fast, he notes to Kaz, tail wagging.
Dagny blinks once or twice, wide gaze slipping to Kaz a moment. An involuntary wag thumps against the ground and she sort of grumbles to herself, toes being played with in the dirt before she tries to push herself up. This part isn't as easy. Her legs are stubborn. The back ones she pushes up first, tail dangling limply, her forebody still in the dirt, and now shoved there even more since her butt made it up. /Hard!/ She moves her hind feet a little, pushing her chin along in the dirt for a bit before her front legs scrabble and begin to move her upward. She stands there for a moment, head hanging like a vulture's before lifting.
Kaz laughs, but it's not a mocking noise. It's an acknowledgement, really, more than anything else. "It /is/ fuckin' hard, at first, or can be. But y'gettin' it. New muscles bein' used, after all..."
New Brother stands, watching, his head tilting to the side. He doesn't move closer or move to help, though he does squirm a little at her progress. He remembers this all too well, after all.
Dagny moves her head slowly, looking at Kaz, then at the red one, her head bobbing with the motion. Her chin dips and she glances between both front paws. Which?, she asks roughly, looking utterly lost.
Kaz looks, it must be said, confused. "Which what? Which direction? Which paw first?"
New Brother tilts his head a little, seeming confused as well, though he glances sideways at Kaz. Ponder. Ears flick back, then forwards, and then he chuffs lightly at her to get her attention. Watch. He then ambles slowly, his movements a little stifflegged and exaggerated, paws pressing slowly to the ground before lifting again.
Paw, is the answer she gives, then turns to look at Cael, head lowering and nose pointing at his feet, like getting that much closer will help. The brown wurfs in reply to Cael's example and raises one foot, the fore left. The concentration in which she sets it down a few inches forward is sort of comical. Then the opposite backleg repeats the process. She snorts at her feet. Get easy?
Kaz beams at Cael. Then she nods at the newcomer. "It really does. It also helps if you let your instincts do some stuff, instead of overthinking it so hard. Just... let things work th' way they're supposed to. Start thinkin' about your laundry, or something."
New Brother pauses after she starts moving, then prances in front of her, ducking into a play-bow. Catch me, he challenges, though it's playful. Don't think. Just come get me. He wuffs, tail wagging. Dagny-yuf is wolf. Run like wolf, play like wolf.
Laundry? Dagny puzzles at Kaz for a moment, canting her head, then looks at Cael, ears flipped forward. No laugh, is her reply as she puffs herself a moment, focusing on where Cael goes with her eyes. It's like watching a giraffe or something. Her legs kind of awkwardly negotiate the ground in a few more awkward steps as she moves toward him. The first few are embarrassing to watch, but at least she's /moving/.
"I just meant, /think/ about something else, and let y'body take over doin' the work. But you've got it, kinda." Kaz doesn't shift herself. Just slides down one of the poles and watches the two, smiling softly.
New Brother slinks backward, still half in a bow, which is somewhat comical in itself, with his butt in the air and tail wagging. That's it! His ears remain forward, and his jaws part to let his tongue loll. This one was like that too, not long ago. He fell on his face lots.
The tip of Dag's tongue is poking out between her teeth as she ambles forward. It's not quite a walk, it's more of a shuffle, but it's getting a little faster, and her feet are leaving the dirt more and more. She stops looking at her feet and looks at Cael. Show walk? Walk normal.
New Brother perks, getting to his feet and straightening, tilting his head somewhat. However, he turns broadside to her, and picks up an easy walk, walking in a wide circle around her. Just like two-legs. But with back legs, too.
Kaz continues to watch, either amused or impressed. Possibly both.
She watches carefully, chin bobbing as she watches the gait. The shuffle lengthens out, carefully at first, then more pronounced. It's an exaggerated walk, but at least the motions are looking right. They just need to feel right. So, she falls in behind Cael, matching the tempo and, well, /walking/. The brown's tail actually starts to wag at the very end with each step. Right? She asks, looking toward Kaz while she continues to walk.
Kaz flashes her a thumb's up. "'s good work you're doin', there."
New Brother seems amused, tail flagging and wagging as he parades about. He looks up to Kaz with a wolfy grin, and the cub looks generally pleased. Whether it's because of Dagny's progress or the prospect of not being /the/ new guy is unknown. Perhaps it's a bit of both.
Faster. Dag flicks her chin, chuffing as she does so. Someone is eager. Her tail flip-flaps behind her, feet in the dirt and getting more and more comfortable by the passing minutes. They are long ones, but it's progress.
New Brother looks back, ears perking, and he extends his stride, not quite jogging, but close, and he relaxes his stride into a more bouncing sort, so Dag is treated to a dancing wolfy-butt in front of her. Oy.
Dagny wrfs, snorting at the bouncing heiny and tail, but manages to keep up. She mimics the bounce, moving weight over the pads of her feet. This is okay. Run how? Is what she asks next, ambitious. Hard?
New Brother pauses, ears flicking. Run is more hard, he admits, though he spurs up into an ambling lope, striding out a small distance away before he turns to face her. Kaz-rhya is right. Pretend like following wolf-pack; have to run to keep up. Okay, now he's just mimicking words from Aubrey. But, hey. They sound good!
Dagny dips her head in acknowledgment, watching carefully. Keep up, she confirms, taking a moment to walk sideways to give him a clear track. Show how, will follow. Her head tilts though. What rhya?
"Rhya's a respectful appendix, like Mister," Kaz says. "So Cael, he's not a rhya, 'cause he's a cub like you. But I am, 'cause I'm older."
New Brother pauses, looking to Kaz as she explains, and flicks his ears forward for a moment to let her finish. And then, he prances around in a half circle, chuffing lightly, and picks up a light trot that extends quickly into a lope. Even with the slow pace, he's out of room before too long, and he looks up to Kaz with a tail-wag. Like putting on a show.
Dagny wrfs at Kaz, bobbing her head. Kaz-rhya, she tests out, and bobs again. As Cael moves again, she watches intently, then walks over to where he started. Her rump wiggles as her back feet test the dirt and she kind of lurches forward, paws digging into dirt in an awkward walk-trot, and then into a two blink run that ends with Dag going splat. Again? She boggles at Cael, one ear sticking out to the side.
New Brother seems amused, and trots over alongside Dag to nose her shoulder in passing as he breaks into a light run that circles about and ends a small distance away. May take a little while to learn, he admits. This one spent many days in the barn doing this. Just takes practice.
Kaz agrees with that, it seems. "You din't learn to walk as a human in th' space've 20 minutes, after all. You wanna shift back, get some ground rules down?"
Kaz's question comes at the right time. Dag looks to her and dips her chin. Rules, she acknowledges. Shift how?
New Brother seems to approve of that, and he trots back over to Kaz, seeming a little out of breath, though not terribly. A moment, and then he blurs and slips back up to homid, himself.
As Kaz talks, she's rummaging in her coat pocket. "Basically, what you gotta do is just visualize yourself as a human. Face, legs, body. Bein' able to see better, but not smell as well. Your hair. Everything about you that you remember. And just... concentrate on /being/ it." She finally produces, after finding a Coke and her flashlight, a thin pair of sweats and a t-shirt. She tosses them onto a haybale, adding apologetically, "Sorry, I kinda forgot about the clothing part, before you shifted."
Dagny glances around and finds the pile that had been her gym clothes. Nuts, she expresses, then gets up and walks to the haybale, then behind it. It's a few moments before the brown fur swells up into visibility, then shrinks down again. Shifting, so far, is so ungraceful. A pale hand reaches up, groping the top of the haybale before finding the offered clothes, and a very human, "Thank you." Is muttered. Followed swiftly by, "Kaz-rhya." Must remember manners. A moment later and the girl steps out into the open barn, shrugging. "Well, I'm not going to be chasing rabbits anytime soon.. It's a start, though. Frustrating, though. Learning to walk all over again." She looks between Cael and Kaz. "Can we learn rules in the house, please?" She asks, politely. "It's cold, and I'm running low on garments."
Kaz mutters, "Sounds like a plan. That way I can get s'more Coke." She limps out, holding the door for the cubs.
Cael turns his back to her as she shifts into nakedness, looking down the barn and politely keeping his eyes in another direction altogether. "It takes a little while," he acknowledges quietly, tilting his head toward her as she comes back around, and he turns toward her once he notes that she is redressed. He shoves his hands in his pockets and follows Kaz out, a little smile on his face.
Dagny crosses arms over her chest, though not due to pouting, but it /is/ quite cold, and there is polite company about. The door held is bee-lined for, but she stops when she nears Cael. "How come your clothes don't explode?" No jealousy in her tone, just curiosity.
Slipping out the door to follow Kaz to the house, Cael bumps the door with his heel to allow her to follow. "Aubrey-rhya dedicated them for me. Just means they go with you when you shift, instead of having to change. It's convenient." He shoots her a wry grin. "I only got mine dedicated about a week ago. It's a /real/ pain in the ass."
Dagny steps through and waits for him, listening. "Dedicated, huh? Sounds like a restrictive wardrobe." She jokes a little, smirking halfway. "And she said you were new, too. When did it happen to you?" She asks, peering at the younger boy, looking a little young herself. "Were you as scared as I feel?"
Cael casts a sideways glance up at the full moon for a moment before speeding his step, wanting to get inside. This 'anxiety' the moon stirs is not a pleasant feeling. "About three weeks ago," he replies after a moment. "It took me a while to believe it. It's fucked up, in a lot of ways. I'm still scared, kind of. And being away from the family sucks." His voice drops, and he casts a quite serious look over to her. "You're gonna learn a lot in the next few days. It's gonna seem like way too much, and they're gonna pack your head /full/. Just know it does get better."
She's not looking at him as the wave of seriousness descends. She's looking at the ground. "It will be all right, I think." Either convincing herself or soothing him, who knows. She nods, though, and looks at him, kind of timidly. "Could we get something to eat, y'think?" As she walks toward the main house.
The seriousness breaks, and the red-haired youth grins. "Hell yes," he replies, pushing open the sliding door, casting a smirk in her direction. "I just /really/ don't suggest the brownies."