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A moment in the lives.
One - Thursday, March 04, 1999, 9:49 AM --------------------------------------- Blue house, Blue Ridge Reservation(#9273RJ) You step into the living room of a beaten up house. It was never a good house - just one of those cheap affairs that the government slapped up in the '50s. Someone is working on fixing it up, though. Power tools are stored on high shelves and the place has the scent of sawdust and fresh paint. The doors have been reframed, the walls replastered, and windows replaced. There are lots of little touches that have yet to be finished - woodworking, touchup painting and washing of the new windows - but the place feels good. There is a sparse collection of beat up furniture and baby toys scattered around the place as well. Around the corner you can catch a glimpse of an antiquated kitchen that looks to be the next thing in line to be remodelled. Contents: Alison Speaks Obvious exits: Speak's RoomAlison's Room Out Stephie slips into the room. Alison nods quietly. "And...." she fades off when Stephie arrives. Stephie stops dead at the lull in conversation. You say "One is intruding?" in Cherokee. Alison shakes her head. "No. Not at all." she says. "We were just talking about your...education." Speaks nods and waves the young one (not much young than he) in. Alison is sitting on the arm of a chair, fragments of oddly colored hair loose around her face, like she has been walking in the wind and the wind has mussed her pony tale Speaks is sitting up where he was formerly laying on the couch. Stephie sits down in the floor. In Cherokee, she asks "May One listen?" Speaks replies in kind, "Speaks thinks One would listen anyways." Stephie blushes. You say "Not if One was told not to." in Cherokee. Alison chuckles softly. She looks at Stephie. "So...how do you think your lessons are going?" Stephie thinks. "One can now change well and fast. And can peek into the Shade." Alison smiles. "That is good. What of the legends and stories? How are you doing on learning them?" Stephie glances at Speaks. "One learns as fast as she can." Speaks says, "Though not as fast as she would like, surely." You say "It is not One's place to second guess the Elders." in Cherokee. Stephie's eyes sparkle a little. "Though faster would be better for One." Alison smiles, her eyes flickering between the two of you. Speaks hmphs. Pups. "Faster is find until One trips over One's own paws. Hard to run fast and jump far when you do not know where you are going, or where your feet will land." Alison chuckles softly. "I am glad you are a better teacher than I am, Speaks." She gets up. "Can I get either of you something to drink? Its sweltering in here." You say "One would like milk?" in Cherokee. Alison nods. "You got it. Speaks?" Speaks says, "I am fine Ali-rhya. I have been getting used to this strange concoction called... Coo-laid." Speaks picks up his glance and looks into it. "It is very bitter. Alison wrinkles her nose. "You actually like the stuff? And...bitter? Its always too sweet for me. I make it for the kids, when they are here. They like it." Speaks says, "No, I do not think I like it. But I made myself some to try and become more...modern." Stephie looks between the two. Speaks holds the glass out to Alison. "You can taste it and tell me if I made it wrong." Alison nods and takes Speaks's glass from him. She takes a tiny sip of the red liquid and wrinkles her nose. "You didnt add the sugar!" Speaks furrows his brow. "Speaks was supposed to add suger?" Stephie giggles. You say "One tasted that "sugar." One's tongue almost fell out of her mouth! It is sweeter than even fruit." in Cherokee. Speaks opens his eyes wide. "Sweeter than honey?' Alison nods. "Yeah." she says. She takes the glass. "Here, let me fix it. I'll be right back." Stephie considers. "It is...a different sweet." Alison goes into the kitchen with Speak's glass and adds sugar and then comes back with a glass of water, a glass of milk and a glass of red stuff. "Try this." Speaks takes the class back carefully, considering it for a few moments. Speaks brings the glass to his face and sniffs it, then dabs his tongue in it carefully. Alison sits down on the arm of the chair again, taking a sip of the water and watching Speaks Stephie drinks the milk, eyes on the Rhyas. Speaks hmms and looks up at Ali and Stephie. It occurs to him that he must look silly which would not do in front of the pup. If all elders look that silly, the pups would never listen. hmmm, maybe that is why the white man's ways are so strange. Alison just tries to keep a straight face. Speaks leans his head back and takes a deep breath. Doing his best to look stonily serious, comical in and of itself when drinking Kool-aid, he quickly downs the glass in one long continuos string of gulps. Alison puts her hand to her lips, waiting to see if Speaks actaully manages to swallow this and not spit it out... Stephie's eyes get big as he does this. "Is it that horrible tasting?" she breathes. Alison looks at Stephie. "I think so." she says. Speaks does the brave thing and actually finishes it. He lowers the glass down and his eyes are very wide and sort of glazed over. His lips are painted with a red stain and they twitch slightly at the sides. Mmmm... sugar-rush Stephie scooches back slightly. Alison just watches. Ah...garou can be SUCH fun. Speaks shakes his head emphatically and then looks down at the glass. He hands the glass back over to Alison very purposefully and slowly. "Speaks thinks he will have water." Stephie looks at Speaks with respect bordering on hero-worship. Alison smiles at Speaks and gets up to go get him water. When she sees Stephie, she manages to keep a straight face, somehow. Speaks clears his throat. "Kool-aid may be good to have ferocity it battle, but for everyday, it makes Speak's fur curl." Okay, that does it. From the kitchen, you hear Ali crack up. You say "So it is a warrior's drink?" in Cherokee. Stephie starts and glances toward the kitchen, a totally puzzled look on her face. Alison tries not to laugh out loud, to stiffle it somewhat. As Stephie looks into the kitchen, she sees Ali sitting on the floor with tears streaming down her face. Stephie looks alarmed. "Ali-Rhya! Are you well?" Speaks says, "I think it would give make warriors very wild, yes. Perhaps we should stock up on this, sugar." Speaks looks over at the kitchen and furrows his brow. Alison just laughs more. After a minute she gasps out, "Fine...I am fine." You say, "But you are crying!" Stephie looks at Speaks helplessly. Speaks mms and frowns. He understands and blushes a little. He looks back at Stephie and says. "Speaks thinks Ali-rhya is speaking to her spirits. The Dream Walkers are much different than garou and dealing with spirits can make them very strange. It si not as natural for them as it is for us. Yeah...that's it. Really. Stephie ohs, stepping back. "Should we leave her be?" Alison laughs harder, as she tries to get herself back under control. "Fine!" she gasps out, insisting. Speaks nods. "I think it best. Unless she stops breathing, and then we should bury her as soon as possible." Speaks hmphs and turns his back towards the kitchen. Stephie sneaks a glance at the insane mage. Alison gasps, trying to slow the laughter, and wipes the tears from her face. "I am fine, Stephie...really." she says. Speaks mmms. "It must have been a powerful vision." Alison looks up, her dark face flushed and wipes the tears away. "Really... I am fine. No vision. No spirits." Stephie looks uncertain. Speaks mmms. "Perhaps we should call a medicine man then One. If that was no vision, or spirits, something could be seriously wrong with her." You sense, in his own, serious way, that Speaks seems to be kidding. Stephie starts to catch on. "Perhaps it would be best. Perhaps some of that cool-aid would help her?" Speaks says, "No, I think that is what started this in the first place." Alison gets up and shakes her head, still smiling. Stephie gives you both a look that gives the sense of a wagging tail, but says only "One yields to the Rhyas wisdom." Alison returns with Speaks's glass of water. "Here." she says, keeping a straight face. Alison sits down on the edge of the chair again and looks at Speaks. Speaks takes the water and looks at Alison. His face is very serious but there is a smile in his eyes. "Thank you ALison." Alison looks back at Speaks, mimicking his expression. "You are welcome, Speaks-the-Past." she says. Speaks lets a smile touch the corner of his mouth slightly but only says, "The white man is very peculiar." Alison nods in agreement. "That is an understatement." she says, very seriously. Speaks says, "Yes, I suppose it is." Stephie nods a little, but this is all weird to her. Speaks takes a deep breath. "I think it is almost time for One's right of passage. Perhaps even long overdue." Stephie sits up straighter. Alison nods. "You are the judge of that." she says softly. "I am ready." Speaks says, "It is time, but I must go to the caern and call for the help of others. I cannpot, and should not, do this on my own." Alison looks at Speaks. "What? Go to the Caern? Or do the Ritual?" Speaks says, "Both." Alison nods slowly. "I would go with you to the caern but...I have been forbidden to be near it." Speaks hmphs and frowns. "That is very dishonorable of them. Have they lost touch with the Walkers since my tribe left this place?" Alison nods. "There are those...warpers from the White man. They ... have given your kin reason to distrust us." Speaks mms and nods. "Our walkers said as much would happen." Speaks says, "They knew of the white man long before he showed themselves on our shores." Alison nods. "And...there are few of your tribe left, if any. The caern is controlled by those shifters of the White man's descent." Speaks grumbles to himself but nods. "Of course, the others of my kind were driven westward." Alison nods quietly. "Yes." she says softly. Speaks sighs and looks over at One for the first time since the change in topic "Does One feel she is ready for her Rite of Passage?" You say, "One...is ready for what Gaia wills." Speaks mms and smiles. He nods. "Then One's next lesson will be to take this one to the Rhya of the Caern. You say, "One will do so." Alison's eyes flicker between the two of you, thoughtfully. "What will happen on hit Rite, Speaks? Will I be part of it? Or ... if other garou are involved..will it be purely a garou thing?" Speaks says, "Others may come but Speaks will demand that Ali-Rhya be given the honor of coming as well." Alison nods slowly. "Thank you." she says softly. Stephie is trying not to bounce with excitemen. Speaks says, "You do not need to thank Speaks, Ali-rhya has earned her place. It will be as much of a rite of passage for her as for the pup." Alison nods slowly. "This will be interesting." she says softly. "Another initiation... Speaks says, "Garou initiations are much different than those amoung your kind however." Alison nods. "I would imagine so. Amoung the dreamspeakers..." she pauses and thinks. "Well...it was long ago. What will happen on this?" Speaks says, "There will be much blood." Alison ohs. "I am not much of a warrior." she says. Speaks says, "Not all are, but all must be willing to fight for Gaia if they are to be accepted by our kind." Speaks says, "though fighting is often won by more than just the arm and claw." Alison nods slowly. "But...all battles are not with blood." She presses h er lips together, thinking. Alison looks at Speaks. "I will do all I can, though I do not know how brave a warrior I will prove to be." Stephie keeps listening, silent. Speaks says, "They all are not, true, but this one I think may be. You will do what you must, the prize at the end is great enough that you will achieve your passage." Alison nods quietly. "I will do that." she says, sitting back and staring at the ceiling. Alison looks back down. "This is my path." she says softly to him. "I will walk it. Whatever the cost." Speaks looks from Alison to Stephie. "We will be returning to my home and you will have to retrieve the legacy left for you with my people." Stephie takes a deep breath. "I am ready," she vows. Speaks says, "You will be." Alison nods quietly. "I've been preparing for this for...some time." Speaks nods. "Good. For now, I am tired and should rest. I must think about what I will say to the Sept. Alison nods to Speaks. "Okay." she says. "Let me know when you go. I will walk you as far as I am allowed." Speaks nods. "once can take me the rest of the way." Alison nods. Speaks rises and bows slightly to the two of you, before hobbling over to put his glass down in the kitchen, You say, "I must also think. You have both been Rited. What should I ask the SPirits for in blessing?" Speaks says, "Anything you can think of." Stephie blinks, then nods. "One will do so." Speaks says, "But you should seek out the brood of Turtle." Speaks says, "She will help you more than any other." Alison nods in agreement. You say, "One...mayneed help to seek her." Speaks trails off as he wanders into his room. "If you are worthy of her in any rate...." Alison looks at Speaks and then back to Stephie. "I will help you." she says. You say, "One would be grateful." Alison nods. "Then I will help." she says softly. (Later) Alison wanders out of her room, yawning at the early hour. She looks... rumpled, tired. She didnt sleep well. She wanders towards the kitchen. Stephie is sitting in the middle of the room, back ramrod straight, singing so softly it's hard to hear. Alison stumbles into the kitchen, still mostly asleep and rummages around. She hasnt noticed you yet. You say "Turtle Mother, I am singing to you, keep me strong and make me wise..." in Cherokee. Alison bangs around in the kitchen for a moment before it gets through her sleep crazed mind that someone is actaully up at this hour. She stops making so much noise and wanders over to the door into the living room to watch you. Stephie has created a small turtle figure on the floor out of earth and rocks. Alison stands there, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, watching and listening. Stephie sprinkles water over the figurine. "Turtle Mother, I am asking your blessing. I am asking your favor," she sings in Cherokee. You say "I have walked with Honor as best I can, Turtle Mother. I have been patient and listened." in Cherokee. Alison watches a moment longer and then steps into the room and comes over to you. She crouches down, pulling her rumpled nightshirt over her legs. But other than that, she doesnt interrupt. Stephie sings softly "I have taken only the old and the sick as prey. I have killed prey only with my claws and teeth, as befits, and born my stripes from their own claws willingly. I have run far and used my nose. Now I ask your blessing, O Turtle Mother." Alison crouches there, watching you, listening. You say "If I am worthy, bless my paws that they be sure, and my nose that it be sharp, and my heart that it be strong and wise." in Cherokee. Alison finally puts a hand gently on your shoulder. Stephie doesn't jump. She leans her head like she's expecting a scritch. Alison smiles a bit. "Stephie?" she says softly. You say "Yes Rhya?" in Cherokee. Alison says, "That is a very good start but...you are doing this in the wrong place." Stephie blinks. "One is?" Alison nods quietly. "Have you been into the spirit realm of this place?" Stephie shakes her head. "One did not think it was polite." Alison nods. "Take a look." she says softly. Stephie closes her eyes, then looks at the window, focusing on the reflection in the predawn dark. You cross into the Umbra. Blue house, Blue Ridge Reservation(#9273RJ) This room is a hopeless mishmash of spiderwebs. They tangle everything. In just a few steps you are covered and little spiders scurry out from under your feet. They are not pattern spiders or net spiders or anything fancy, just spider spirits, having a ball. Obvious exits: Speak's Room Alison's Room Out You return to reality. Stephie skitters back almost immediately. "There are little eight-leg sisters everywhere!" Alison nods in agreement. "Yes." she says. "Spider is my totem. Spider makes her home here. Turtle would not be comfortable." Stephie shakes her head, eyes wide. "They were all over everything!" Alison nods in agreement. "Yes." she says. She holds up a tattooed hand in the moonlight, where you can see it. Spiderwebs crawl over the skin, up to her arm, under her shirt. In the middle of her palm is set a glyph-like image of Spider. Stephie looks at it in fascination. Alison says, softly, "When I was...young. A new warper. Spider came to me and I became her hands. It is not a bargain to be made lightly. You say, "It does not sound it. Does she bite you?" Alison smiles a bit and points out a scar on the inside of her wrist. "On occassion." Stephie says fervently "I hope Turtle does not bite me." Alison puts her hand back in her lap. "That is not Turtle's way, I think." You say, "I hope not. They have strong jaws." Alison nods. "They do." she says. "Should Turtle become your totem, She will change you, as Spider has changed me. She will ask much of you, but give you much in return." You say, "I think She has chosen me already, Rhya." Stephie's voice is soft. Alison ahs. "Well then." she smiles. You say, "She comes to me in dreams sometimes." Alison nods. "What does she say?" she asks. You say, "Many things. I must learn. I must be strong. I must think." Alison nods. "That is wise advice. Keep an open mind. There are always things to learn. Listen to the elders, for when they die, they take their knowlege with them and so much knowlege is being lost these days." You say, "Sometimes when I lie outside and think I can hear you and Speaks-Rhya talking." Alison looks at you and smiles. "Ah. Do you have questions about what we say?" You say, "I do not understand enough to ask questions." Alison ahs. Alison says, "Well...just so you know that you can always ask questions of me and I will explain the best I can, okay?" You say, "I will ask if I need to. Oh! There is something. What is a computer?" Alison ahs. She thinks for a moment. "Do you know what a phone is?" Stephie points to the wall. Alison nods. "But do you know what it is used for?" Stephie shakes her head mutely. Alison nods. "Okay so...people all over the world have these things, okay? What I can do is pick up the handle and tell it who I want to talk to, and it will let me talk to them." You say, "So you are not talking to spirits then?" Alison shakes her head. "Not when I am using that. Not usually." Stephie looks a little disapointed. Alison says, "Okay...so...a computer is kind of like a phone. You can use it to talk to people, and sometimes to spirits." You say, "How can you do that?" Alison thinks about it. "In a way, its a form of magick. Both the phone is, and the computer. Its just a form of magick that most people dont find odd." You say, "One does not understand?" Alison hmms. "Okay. You know how you can Change?" Stephie nods. Alison says, "Well...if you go to the city, most of the people there, the white men, would not believe that is possible. You can do it, but it would terrify them because they do not think that it is possible to Change, even though it is." Stephie blinks. "But the Veil..." Alison ohs. "You wouldnt want to try this. But if you did, people would be scared because what you are...what I am...what the spirits are...are things they dont believe exists. Stephie nods, reassured if not comprehending. Alison hmmms. "Okay. Before you first changed, did you believe that you could become a two-legs? You say, "I did not think about it." Alison nods. "Well, for most two-legs, they do not think about magick, or werewolves, or spirits. They make up stories about us to tell their children, but they do not believe in what we are."
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