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Synopsis: Maddie takes Kitty into the Umbra for lessons on Umbral geography and many of the types of domains she could encounter, and then Kitty has a riddle contest with Coyote.
Date/Time: October 6th, 2012 / Well Before Dawn
Moon: Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous (Galliard) Moon phase (61% full).
Weather: Currently in Saint Claire, it is clear outside. The temperature is 31 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the southeast at 3 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.23 and rising, and the relative humidity is 92 percent. The dewpoint is 29 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 degrees Celsius.)
Umbra: Harbor Park
The Umbral ground beneath your feet here is lush with vegetation, an oasis of life amidst the concrete and webbing of the scab. Trees stand proud and tall here, their branches full of leaves. Shrubs line the outer edges of the park, tangled with encroaching webs. The fountain stands out boldly from even the surrounding area, the sleek lines sharper and more pronounced. Clean pure water roars and cascades from the figure in the fountain's center, falling into a cold clear pool that looks quite inviting. Spreading out from the fountain, the rest of the park is a green veldt that seems to radiate life and strength. The river banks the east shore of the park, bridged by a massive rusty bridge. On this shore, the glade seems to have spread out on to it, vines winding around the supports. Further across the river, the bridge melds into the scab again, flaked with rust and covered in webs. The river itself is clean within a few feet of the shore, but black ooze seems to encroach menacingly from the murk of the rest of the river.
A walkway leads out of the Glade-like atmosphere of the park from just north of the fountain. Eastward, the dark span of the bridge stretches over the vile river. Dark streets lead west and southwest into the blighted Umbra of the city.
The Umbral Glade is lit at all times as if it is the full moon.
Fall has set in fiercely, it seems -- the temperatures have fallen below freezing, and that chill is echoed in the Umbra. Maddie, for her part, has added several extra layers to help make sure she stays warm, and if Topsy has not already done so, would dedicate whatever cold weather gear that Kitty felt she needed. The three Garou meet up at the fountain of Harbor Park, and use the waters to cross the Gauntlet.
Kitty is clearly nervous - but excited - when she arrives. She has brought a long grey wool coat, paired with purple gloves, scarf and hat. It's very nearly elegant, for Kitty - they all seem to be bought new, she's obviously begged someone to pick her some bits and pieces up. She is quiet today, but she hugs people *really* tightly before setting off, quietly determined not to let anyone down.
Topsy is the sort of person who believes in cold baths and brisk walks, and she carries her own layer of thermal insulation anyway, so she has made little concession to the weather. Despite that, her hug is both warm and warming. She shifts to Glabro once on the spirit-side of the Gauntlet, thus adding further bulk to her innate cold resistance.
Maddie takes a seat on the ledge of the fountain. "Maddie will show her more of the city Umbra another night, but for her first lessons, she thinks that being here is enough. Kitty knows that this is called the Penumbra. She may hear this place called the shadow, and she can see why -- she sees the fountain, the bridge...distance and time work much the same here as they do across the Gauntlet. This place and the world she was born into are closely tied, but split apart by the Gauntlet. This is as far as some Garou ever go into the Umbra, and yet it only begins to scratch the surface of what she might find if she were to go looking."
Kitty sits herself at Maddie's feet, leaning back against the fountain as the Theurge talks. "So.. Theurges will explore more than others?" she guesses. "To find things, to meet spirits..? Or is it not as simple as that?" She looks around, she's been in the umbra here once before, and there is a trace of wariness in her gaze, looking out for anything that shouldn't be here..
"Some Tribes take more of an interest in exploring than others, too," Topsy remarks, somewhat over her shoulder as she does a short tour of the area, keeping her eyes open. She passes the ball back to Maddie with a glance and carries on with walking her circuit.
Maddie says, "Any auspice _may_ explore, and tribes may have areas that they particularly favor and know better than any other -- but it is the crescent moon, the shaman, that will be called upon to do so most often in the course of her duties. And the farther she ventures into the Umbra, the more it will be the Theurge that is looked to for guidance."
"So the sooner I get comfortable here, the better?" Kitty speculates, thoughtful. "On the other hand, I'm thinking that there's a lot to learn before anyone can be even semi-competent here. And as for *safe*?" She glances up towards Topsy for a moment, "Well, let's say 'safe' isn't really what springs to mind when I think of this place. Even though it's lovely too!"
"Nothing really worthwhile is /safe/," Topsy states. "And now I must stop interrupting. Do carry on Maddie dear."
Maddie bobs her head in agreement to what Topsy said -- the first part, at least, since there's no indication in her posture, expression, or tone to suggest that she considers it an interruption. "She has much to learn, yes, and she will often find it best to venture here with a pack beside her. First, she will speak of the connection between spirit and flesh. Things from the other world take time to appear here -- what she will usually see will be the spirits of old building and places. She may find newer ones, but only if they are extremely significant in some way, either good or bad -- the site of constant suffering will appear as readily as one of constant joy. She is sad to say the places of suffering are often more common. And while a spirit may stand tall here long after its physical counterpart is gone, the reverse is not true -- if the spirit dies, the body will soon follow."
"It's almost like what people say about haunted houses?" Kitty speculates. "Emotions, thoughts, feelings, imprint after long enough? So you get ghosts because death tends to be associated with strong emotions?" She turns her head once more, studying the place once more, seeking differences between the 'real' world, and this one. "And old places might not have *strong* emotions, but they'd have *old* ones.. so they start casting a shadow - or light - here?"
Maddie, says, "Maddie thinks that is good way to think of it, although the ghosts of the dead do not come here -- they have their own Dark Umbra, that Garou can only go to if they use a very advanced rite. Even if she does not go farther than the Penumbra, though, it is not _just_ a shadow. There are places where the realms overlap, called Domains." She gestures to the city beyond the park, then. "If the Weaver and the Wyrm grow too strong, then a blight may form. That is one of the things that Bone Gnawers and Glass Walkers work to prevent."
Kitty tilts her head to one side, a little confused. "A blight?" she asks. "Is that a place *in* the penumbra? What would it look like, if there was a blight here?" She shifts a little, so she can look towards Maddie more easily, as Topsy circles the pair. "So ghosts, but not ghosts. I'll come up with a new word!"
Maddie says, "Dark and webbed, home to many pattern spiders and banes. She should take what she sees outside the park, and amplify it. She should not think that the Weaver and the Wyrm are the same, though, or that they are allies. Each has their own Domains as well. Where the Weaver holds near-exclusive sway, a Web may form -- most commonly in places of science or technology. Domains where the Wyrm holds sway are far worse -- the Garou call them hellholes for a reason. Wyrm spirits hold sway, and can use them as doorways from the Near Realms into the Penumbra. She might find a hellhole across the Gauntlet from a toxic waste dump, or the site of an oil spill."
Kitty nods to that, teeth teasing at her lower lip lightly. "If I *should* ever happen across such a place.. I assume I come home, find you, find Topsy, find someone.. so a group can do something about it? Come to that, what *do* we do to .. rebalance .. a blighted area? If it is all pattern spiders, do we try and bring more of the Wyld into the place, for instance?"
Maddie says, "If she finds a Hellhole without a pack at her back...she should run. A Web is...somewhat safer for her, but only so long as she does not cause a disruption to the Weaver's order. If she intrudes where she should not, she is in just as much danger. The Weaver, in her madness, would see everything calcified into her Pattern Webs. To mend such a place is difficult. First they must drive out the bulk of the dominant power, and then they must cleanse it. They may also work in the Realm to change the nature of the place, though that is often slower, if also safer and sometimes more lasting -- if she gives the residents of a decaying neighborhood that is falling to the Wyrm hope, unites them to keep their neighborhood safe, to take pride in it...that can help to turn the tide on this side of the Gauntlet."
"Wow." Kitty breathes out. "That's.. not simple. But it does make sense." She comes to her feet, and turns to pad around in a large circle, studying the place more closely, trying to take in everything around herself. "I don't even know where to start, Maddie! It's all so.. very big!"
Maddie flashes her gap-toothed smile at Kitty. "Maddie is afraid she has only just begun -- she has not even moved beyond the Penumbra as yet, and there are many worlds beyond that she will need to know of. Perhaps she should finish the domains this time, and save the Near Realms for their next lesson, though, so that she is not overwhelming Kitty with information."
Topsy returns from a wide circuit near the end. "Perhaps, at the right point, you'll let me chip in just a little, on the Homeland of the Children of Gaia?"
"Can I just ask how many worlds there are? Vaguely? Our world, Penumbra, ghost realms..?" Kitty smiles towards Maddie, "Domains makes sense to learn about though. One part, learned properly, is probably better than quarter-knowing four things! I'm sensing a little knowledge is a dangerous thing around here.."
Maddie says, "There is the Penumbra. The Dark Umbra. The Garou recognize thirteen Near Realms -- she should not think this is all that there are, but they are thirteen of the largest and most permanent of the Realms -- plus the Dream Realm, and the tribal homelands that Topsy mentioned. Beyond those, there is the Deep Umbra. Even as a Theurge, she may never venture so far as that; Maddie has not. The Deep Umbra is a vast void, difficult to cross, and the stories say that there are other worlds entirely somewhere, for those who could stand to leave Gaia behind for long enough to search for them."
There is a sparkle in Kitty's eyes, "I always liked heading out on boats, across the empty seas.." she murmurs. "I can see the appeal in searching for the distant, lonely lands..." The cub turns away, staring out as though she could see off into the other worlds just by looking. "You need people who do that, right? Explorers? Seekers..? Talking of which, can you sail in the Penumbra?
Maddie has to consider that a moment. "She could in some places, although she would need to find a boat, or to bring it with her. She should warn Kitty, though, that the Deep Umbra is difficult to reach, and many who venture out into it do not return. If she does choose to explore it one day, she should make sure that she is well-prepared. And there is also much to be explored in the Penumbra and the Near Realms -- even now, she could find a place that no Garou has ever been, or an entire realm that did not exist until she arrived."
"I've been told, more than once, that a lot of the Umbra appears over time, a though it was made up on the spot," Topsy comments on her next return. "Take Unicorn. Did Unicorn come first, and humans just recall the time when the Gauntlet wasn't there and they could see him too? Or did humans somehow will him into existence with belief?"
Kitty considers that, and nods slowly. "I'm not talking of running off right now." she assures Maddie. "Just.. it'd be good to have an aim in life! Well, you know what I mean. It's not like we're short on things to do in general. Fix the bawn, for starters..." She trails off, then asks curiously, "What does the bawn look like from here, anyhow? Overgrown? Is that some sort of wyld-inspired blight? Or is it only Weaver and Wyrm that cause blights?" She smiles as Topsy reappears, "I *long* to meet him." she admits. "But I see what you're getting at.. It's.. fascinating."
"That actually brings Maddie back to the Domains that she was speaking of earlier," The Gnawer Theurge says. "Where she is now is called a Glen. A place where the energies of Gaia and the Wyld blend to create something that is vital and alive and primal. A Glen is a precious place to the Garou -- and this one has the potential to become a caern. The bawn, from what Maddie has seen of it through her mirror, is something else right now. It is a Wylding -- a domain where the Wyld is dominant and change is constant. Wyldings are both rare and dangerous -- where the Weaver has rules, or IS rules, which makes it predictable, the Wyld is defined by the absence of rules. She could be safe one moment, and in mortal danger the next."
Topsy pauses in her perambulations, folding her arms and balancing her weight squarely between her feet to listen.
Kitty nods slowly, "Okay." she murmurs. "So the bawn *was* a Glen, I guess? Before it was a bawn? And now it's a Wylding." She glances between the two, "And how does the Homeland.. or Homelands.. fit into all this? Where are *they*?" It's clear the cub is getting just a little overwhelmed as she tries to sort through it all in her head. But some things just aren't easily compartmentalized.
Maddie says, "Maddie suspects that the caern itself was a Glen, although the bawn would have just been ordinary woods." She looks to Topsy to see if the Ahroun has any better an idea, since she's at least slightly less new to the sept than the Gnawer. "The tribal homelands are smaller realms -- not counted among the thirteen Near Realms, though in many respects they are more important to the Garou tribes than the larger realms that any may access. She will let Topsy tell her of the Children of Gaia's homeland, though."
"Have you ever had a bubble-bath when you were small, dear?" Topsy asks. "With a rubber duck, and other toys? If the Umbra /was/ a bubble-bath, then the big toys that bob around pretty much in the same place would be the Major Realms... I expect the Atrocity Realm is the spiky plastic toy that some obnoxious little brother put in there to stab you in the butt. Then the little toys are the Minor Realms that don't change but that can get washed around with the water. The bubbles are all the other little realms and sub-realms and pockets."
"Do you know.. I never had a rubber duck." Kitty mentions, as a vague aside. "For some reason, my parents bought me a rubber shark toy instead.." Words spoken vaguely, while she thinks through the images. She blinks, and then her expression clears, "But it makes sense. Actually. What's the difference between 'Umbra' and 'Penumbra', by the way? I'm getting a little confused there.."
Maddie replies, "The Penumbra is a specific term -- it is just the part of the Umbra that overlaps most closely with the Realm. The Umbra may refer to any part of the spirit realm, whether..." She's interrupted, then, by a wolf-whistle that seems to come from directly behind Topsy, though Kitty doesn't see anyone back there.
Topsy spins with a speed utterly at odds with her superficial appearance of being plump and comfortable.
"Ah.. the Umbra is the whole bath, the Penumbra is the pictures you've drawn on yourself in bath crayon?" Oh dear, this analogy could go altogether Too Far in Kitty's hands. "So it mirrors you, reflects you, is part of you, but.." Belatedly, she realizes that there's something there, and she scrambles to her feet, resisting the temptation to flick straight into crinos. Just.
There's no sign of anyone where the whistle comes from, though a large coyote does trot out of the wooded area, his posture clearly indicating amusement. *Relax! A wolf-whistle for the pretty wolf ladies. It's only fitting, wouldn't you agree? But never you fear, your old cousin Coyote is an invited guest, you just ask your other friend.* He is using spirit speech, but neither Kitty nor Topsy have any trouble understanding him. And, indeed, should they turn to look, Maddie doesn't seem at all surprised by his appearance.
"Ah, their guest has arrived. He is late, though, as usual," says the Gnawer, earning a laugh from Coyote.
"Aha!" Topsy relaxes, although not entirely. Apparently, she knows Coyote, or at least Coyote's reputation. "Good evening!"
Kitty's eyes open wide, and she blinks, she couldn't understand Quack at all. Talking of which, where is Quack? With the thought, she turns her eyes towards the nearby for a moment, searching, before she gets her brain back in gear and turns back towards Coyote, bowing towards him. Everyone else can tease, but she's going with being overawed, for the time being.
Maddie sits back, content to remain silent now. She's made her bargain with Coyote, but how he keeps it, that's up to him...so long as he doesn't get _too_ out of hand, at least. As for the ducks, they're around in their usual spots around the park, although she may or may not see Quack specifically. This time, when he speaks, his voice comes from immediately over Kitty's shoulder, although he hasn't moved -- Kitty would get that whole 'hairs raising on the back of her neck' sensation as if she's being _watched_ from back there, too. *Oh, you're a polite one, aren't you?* he asks, but then the sensation vanishes. *But no sense in spoiling that just yet. This old Coyote does miss the day when he could be a spirit of wisdom or respect, so he'll take the chance to play pretend for a little while and be a teacher.*
Topsy smiles a little and watches.
"I.. I..." The cub tries to get a nice eloquent sentence out, but rather fails at first. "I am sure you are worthy of respect.." she murmurs finally, a helpless glance towards Maddie as she seeks a way to silently ask how she should address a coyote spirit. She swallows at the sensation of being watched, but she manages to keep her voice from quavering, now she's got going. "I would be glad of anything you would care to teach me."
The coyote trots up closer to Kitty. *If your teacher is doing her job, she'll have taught you that nothing in this world comes for free. And if you know your stories, you'll know that old Coyote has tried harder than anybody to get around that. Sometimes he does, sometimes not so much. But I'll tell you what, the one thing I hate more than anything is letting things get boring. So I think we should play a game. You win, and old Coyote will give you a little bit of his wisdom. But a wager isn't any fun if there aren't any stakes, don't you agree?* He lets out a pained sigh. *Now, your teacher won't let me take them _too_ high, so you can't go offering Coyote years of service, but I'm betting that you can come up with something fitting.*
Kitty actually audibly gulps. She patently has *no* idea what a spirit might want. Other than years of service, as already mentioned, which seems to be a little beyond. "I.. would.. be happy to consider a wager." she finally temporizes. "But I fear my own inexperience would put me at a significant disadvantage when offering something acceptable." Nothing helpful coming from the quiet Topsy, she looks back towards Maddie once more.
Maddie says only, "She is a Theurge. She must be able to figure out what to offer a spirit she does not know, and there is no better way to do that than by practicing it. Coyote has already told her things to help her make an offer, if she has been listening."
Kitty bites her lower lip. "Well.. it has to be something interesting, we've established that. Of course, my version of interesting, and yours.. might be very different..." She swallows nervously again. "However, you've also said you miss being a spirit of wisdom..." She bites her lip hard enough that a bead of blood appears, which she wipes away." A glance towards the lake, where the ducks play for a moment, "I suppose chasing ducks, first to catch one, is out of the question?" Not that she thinks she'd have an advantage with Quack over there somewhere, or anything. "Or a race, in lupus form.. I think you'd hold the advantage though, I've not been running as a four legged hunter very long..."
*No, no, no. We're talking about the stakes, not the game. If you win, then I share a bit of wisdom with you. But what do you give me if _I_ win?* Coyote replies. *You don't think your teacher would just give old Coyote free reign to pick the game, do you? Why, he might have asked you to scratch behind his ears!* Despite the seeming innocence of the phrase, something in the way the spirit says it makes it come across as quite lewd.
Kitty blinks to the ear scritching, blushing as she clumsily tries to stagger through the conversation. "Something you'd *want*? From *me*?" She looks blank, fighting the instinct to throw out the automatic 'But I'm useless' comments. "I.. could come and visit again, and listen to you, while you tell tales of times gone by? Or does that just count as more teaching..?" She is trying to hold her ground, but the inexperience of the cub is definitely showing. "I can offer you that respect that you are missing... and that, gladly."
*So you're saying you think old Coyote is a windbag?* he asks, though it's amusement rather than irritation in his tone. He tilts his head, apparently intrigued by the second of the offers, though. *And how would you do that?*
Kitty manages - somehow - not to whimper. "I meant more that you had seen more, and heard more, and knew more - than I could ever hope to know. And that I would be honored and grateful to hear more from you. I would be glad for any teaching. But, more than that, I would be glad to simply hear your words." She is chewing on her lip once more, "I could.. speak of you to the other youngsters..?" she offers. "Let them know that you are wise, and your words are worth the hearing. What you teach the young, will eventually pass to the Elders, given enough time. A small investment now, will lead to a greater future."
*Well, now, the first lesson that this old Coyote is going to teach you is to always make sure your offers expire. All you wolves are young compared to us, you know, and you don't want to be talking me up your whole life, not that I don't like a little flattery from a pretty girl. So we'll balance it out a bit -- before three cycles of the moon are out, you'll find at least three youngsters to tell about how wise Coyote is. But you've got to be convincing! How about that?*
Kitty smiles in open relief, "Yes." she agrees. "It's.. like being back in class. S.M.A.R.T. objectives!" She winces a little, "Who'd have thought that business courses would ever be useful here..?" She can't help laughing for the first time, amused finally, at the incongrouity of it all. "I would be glad to offer that to you. And I *will* be convincing!"
*And now that we've both put our ante's in the pot, the game begins!* Coyote exclaims gleefully. *You being a crescent moon, your teacher there wanted it to be a game of riddles. Just three, and I won't even ask you to come up with any of your own to stump me. Here's the first: Five hundred begins me, five hundred ends me, five in the middle is seen / First of all figures, the first of all letters, take up their stations between! / Join all together, and then you will bring / before you the name of a king. Who am I?*
Kitty frowns, thinking it through. "First of all letters is 'A'... first of all figures is '1'.." She gets up, starting to pace a little. "Five in the middle...? Roman numeral is 'V' for five.." The cub's brow furrows, and she twists her own fingers through her hair. "Oh.. 1-V-A? A-V-1? What's five hundred in numerals? L is fifty, C one hundred.. what's.. well, what letter would fill..." She closes her eyes tightly, trying to visualize, before she suddenly literally bounces into the air. "D! It's a D! David!! King David!!"
Coyote laughs at her enthusiasm, clearly quite pleased with both it and with her answer. *Well done, well done. In the spirit of this place, I offer you the second: You saw me where I never was and where I could not be. And yet within that very place, my face you often see. What am I?*
This one is harder, apparently - girls who read lots of books can pick up on roman numerals, but this is more esoteric. She swallows, "Faces are clocks, often.. but that doesn't sound right.. The moon has a face - but we see that where it is, up in the sky." She's clearly struggling, "Ummm.. give me a minute... I'm not giving up..."
Coyote waits patiently, although he offers no further hints than the one he already gave. Maddie and Topsy, likewise, offer silent encouragement, but little more.
In the spirit of the place..? Kitty looks around, before pausing. "Hang on.. we're here.. but here isn't 'here'. And you showed me, on that first day..." She rattles through various possibilities, testing them out and discarding them, before she suddenly smiles. "A mirror! No.. not quite a mirror - the reflection in a mirror. Seeing yourself *in* another place..?"
*You had old Coyote thinking he was going to fool you, even when you had to step through a reflection to get here. Let's see if he can get you with his third one: I am, in truth, a yellow fork, from tables in the sky / By inadvertent fingers dropped, the awful cultery / Of mansions never quite disclosed, and never quite concealed / The apparatus of the dark, to ignorance revealed.* He sighs a bit. *I know, I know, the first rhyme is a bit of a stretch. But still, what am I?*
"Sunbeams?" Kitty muses. "They come down in rays.. but not exactly forklike.. I assume getting two out of three here is just not good enough..? Umm.. What else is in the sky.. Shooting stars, thunder.. oh. Lightning." Even now she doesn't seem sure, "Yellow fork, fair enough but..." She wrinkles her nose, "I'm not quite sure it fits..? The apparatus of the dark, to ignorance revealed? Ummm... It rings bells, somewhere along the way. I'm not sure but.. I think that's the best I've got." She turns her dark eyes hopefully to Coyote, surreptitiously crossing her fingers.
Coyote clucks his tongue at her, yet another oddly human-like gesture coming from a body that doesn't look built for it. *Take a little hint from your cousin Coyote -- be more confident. Don't matter if you're right or wrong, you'll look strong doing it, and sometimes that can make all the difference in whether you win or lose. Lucky for you, this time you got it right. Now lean on down here and let Coyote whisper some sweet nothings in your ear.*
There is a glance towards Maddie, just to be sure, before she pads forward and crouches down at Coyote's side. "I suppose scritching your ears is right out of the question?" She smiles slightly, and quiets to listen. It really *is* worth paying close attention to spirits when they want to talk, she thinks...
Coyote, old lech that he is, doesn't actually whisper -- she gets a tongue in her ear, instead. Thankfully, though, he's behaving enough that it just feels like getting her ear licked by a dog. And he _is_ true to his word. She can feel her perception of the noises that surround her shift when he does it, can understand the murmurings of the various spirits, and she can intuitively sense how to speak so that her words, although still sounding normal to those around her, can also conveying their meaning in a similar fashion to the spirits.
Kitty giggles as her ear is licked. "Hey!" she protests.. although she is immediately entranced as she realizes that the sounds about her are starting to make sense. "Oh.. Thank you! Thank you so much!" Unthinking, she moves to wrap her arms around Coyote for a moment, hugging unless he prevents her. "That's just.. amazing! It's all so.. big!"
Maddie, for her part, sighs and rolls her eyes when Coyote licks Kitty’s ear. There'll be a moment of confusion for Kitty at the hug, when she's not quite sure if it's a man or a coyote that she's hugging, as if the spirit is neither and both at the same time, before it resolves more firmly into its four legged form. *You remember your old cousin Coyote when you're all grown up and looking for a pack. You do that, and you'll get to see plenty more amazing things, because like I told you, there's nothing I hate more than being bored.* And with that, the spirit is gone as if he never was.
END
Date/Time: October 6th, 2012 / Well Before Dawn
Moon: Currently the moon is in the waning Gibbous (Galliard) Moon phase (61% full).
Weather: Currently in Saint Claire, it is clear outside. The temperature is 31 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the southeast at 3 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 30.23 and rising, and the relative humidity is 92 percent. The dewpoint is 29 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 degrees Celsius.)
Umbra: Harbor Park
The Umbral ground beneath your feet here is lush with vegetation, an oasis of life amidst the concrete and webbing of the scab. Trees stand proud and tall here, their branches full of leaves. Shrubs line the outer edges of the park, tangled with encroaching webs. The fountain stands out boldly from even the surrounding area, the sleek lines sharper and more pronounced. Clean pure water roars and cascades from the figure in the fountain's center, falling into a cold clear pool that looks quite inviting. Spreading out from the fountain, the rest of the park is a green veldt that seems to radiate life and strength. The river banks the east shore of the park, bridged by a massive rusty bridge. On this shore, the glade seems to have spread out on to it, vines winding around the supports. Further across the river, the bridge melds into the scab again, flaked with rust and covered in webs. The river itself is clean within a few feet of the shore, but black ooze seems to encroach menacingly from the murk of the rest of the river.
A walkway leads out of the Glade-like atmosphere of the park from just north of the fountain. Eastward, the dark span of the bridge stretches over the vile river. Dark streets lead west and southwest into the blighted Umbra of the city.
The Umbral Glade is lit at all times as if it is the full moon.
Fall has set in fiercely, it seems -- the temperatures have fallen below freezing, and that chill is echoed in the Umbra. Maddie, for her part, has added several extra layers to help make sure she stays warm, and if Topsy has not already done so, would dedicate whatever cold weather gear that Kitty felt she needed. The three Garou meet up at the fountain of Harbor Park, and use the waters to cross the Gauntlet.
Kitty is clearly nervous - but excited - when she arrives. She has brought a long grey wool coat, paired with purple gloves, scarf and hat. It's very nearly elegant, for Kitty - they all seem to be bought new, she's obviously begged someone to pick her some bits and pieces up. She is quiet today, but she hugs people *really* tightly before setting off, quietly determined not to let anyone down.
Topsy is the sort of person who believes in cold baths and brisk walks, and she carries her own layer of thermal insulation anyway, so she has made little concession to the weather. Despite that, her hug is both warm and warming. She shifts to Glabro once on the spirit-side of the Gauntlet, thus adding further bulk to her innate cold resistance.
Maddie takes a seat on the ledge of the fountain. "Maddie will show her more of the city Umbra another night, but for her first lessons, she thinks that being here is enough. Kitty knows that this is called the Penumbra. She may hear this place called the shadow, and she can see why -- she sees the fountain, the bridge...distance and time work much the same here as they do across the Gauntlet. This place and the world she was born into are closely tied, but split apart by the Gauntlet. This is as far as some Garou ever go into the Umbra, and yet it only begins to scratch the surface of what she might find if she were to go looking."
Kitty sits herself at Maddie's feet, leaning back against the fountain as the Theurge talks. "So.. Theurges will explore more than others?" she guesses. "To find things, to meet spirits..? Or is it not as simple as that?" She looks around, she's been in the umbra here once before, and there is a trace of wariness in her gaze, looking out for anything that shouldn't be here..
"Some Tribes take more of an interest in exploring than others, too," Topsy remarks, somewhat over her shoulder as she does a short tour of the area, keeping her eyes open. She passes the ball back to Maddie with a glance and carries on with walking her circuit.
Maddie says, "Any auspice _may_ explore, and tribes may have areas that they particularly favor and know better than any other -- but it is the crescent moon, the shaman, that will be called upon to do so most often in the course of her duties. And the farther she ventures into the Umbra, the more it will be the Theurge that is looked to for guidance."
"So the sooner I get comfortable here, the better?" Kitty speculates, thoughtful. "On the other hand, I'm thinking that there's a lot to learn before anyone can be even semi-competent here. And as for *safe*?" She glances up towards Topsy for a moment, "Well, let's say 'safe' isn't really what springs to mind when I think of this place. Even though it's lovely too!"
"Nothing really worthwhile is /safe/," Topsy states. "And now I must stop interrupting. Do carry on Maddie dear."
Maddie bobs her head in agreement to what Topsy said -- the first part, at least, since there's no indication in her posture, expression, or tone to suggest that she considers it an interruption. "She has much to learn, yes, and she will often find it best to venture here with a pack beside her. First, she will speak of the connection between spirit and flesh. Things from the other world take time to appear here -- what she will usually see will be the spirits of old building and places. She may find newer ones, but only if they are extremely significant in some way, either good or bad -- the site of constant suffering will appear as readily as one of constant joy. She is sad to say the places of suffering are often more common. And while a spirit may stand tall here long after its physical counterpart is gone, the reverse is not true -- if the spirit dies, the body will soon follow."
"It's almost like what people say about haunted houses?" Kitty speculates. "Emotions, thoughts, feelings, imprint after long enough? So you get ghosts because death tends to be associated with strong emotions?" She turns her head once more, studying the place once more, seeking differences between the 'real' world, and this one. "And old places might not have *strong* emotions, but they'd have *old* ones.. so they start casting a shadow - or light - here?"
Maddie, says, "Maddie thinks that is good way to think of it, although the ghosts of the dead do not come here -- they have their own Dark Umbra, that Garou can only go to if they use a very advanced rite. Even if she does not go farther than the Penumbra, though, it is not _just_ a shadow. There are places where the realms overlap, called Domains." She gestures to the city beyond the park, then. "If the Weaver and the Wyrm grow too strong, then a blight may form. That is one of the things that Bone Gnawers and Glass Walkers work to prevent."
Kitty tilts her head to one side, a little confused. "A blight?" she asks. "Is that a place *in* the penumbra? What would it look like, if there was a blight here?" She shifts a little, so she can look towards Maddie more easily, as Topsy circles the pair. "So ghosts, but not ghosts. I'll come up with a new word!"
Maddie says, "Dark and webbed, home to many pattern spiders and banes. She should take what she sees outside the park, and amplify it. She should not think that the Weaver and the Wyrm are the same, though, or that they are allies. Each has their own Domains as well. Where the Weaver holds near-exclusive sway, a Web may form -- most commonly in places of science or technology. Domains where the Wyrm holds sway are far worse -- the Garou call them hellholes for a reason. Wyrm spirits hold sway, and can use them as doorways from the Near Realms into the Penumbra. She might find a hellhole across the Gauntlet from a toxic waste dump, or the site of an oil spill."
Kitty nods to that, teeth teasing at her lower lip lightly. "If I *should* ever happen across such a place.. I assume I come home, find you, find Topsy, find someone.. so a group can do something about it? Come to that, what *do* we do to .. rebalance .. a blighted area? If it is all pattern spiders, do we try and bring more of the Wyld into the place, for instance?"
Maddie says, "If she finds a Hellhole without a pack at her back...she should run. A Web is...somewhat safer for her, but only so long as she does not cause a disruption to the Weaver's order. If she intrudes where she should not, she is in just as much danger. The Weaver, in her madness, would see everything calcified into her Pattern Webs. To mend such a place is difficult. First they must drive out the bulk of the dominant power, and then they must cleanse it. They may also work in the Realm to change the nature of the place, though that is often slower, if also safer and sometimes more lasting -- if she gives the residents of a decaying neighborhood that is falling to the Wyrm hope, unites them to keep their neighborhood safe, to take pride in it...that can help to turn the tide on this side of the Gauntlet."
"Wow." Kitty breathes out. "That's.. not simple. But it does make sense." She comes to her feet, and turns to pad around in a large circle, studying the place more closely, trying to take in everything around herself. "I don't even know where to start, Maddie! It's all so.. very big!"
Maddie flashes her gap-toothed smile at Kitty. "Maddie is afraid she has only just begun -- she has not even moved beyond the Penumbra as yet, and there are many worlds beyond that she will need to know of. Perhaps she should finish the domains this time, and save the Near Realms for their next lesson, though, so that she is not overwhelming Kitty with information."
Topsy returns from a wide circuit near the end. "Perhaps, at the right point, you'll let me chip in just a little, on the Homeland of the Children of Gaia?"
"Can I just ask how many worlds there are? Vaguely? Our world, Penumbra, ghost realms..?" Kitty smiles towards Maddie, "Domains makes sense to learn about though. One part, learned properly, is probably better than quarter-knowing four things! I'm sensing a little knowledge is a dangerous thing around here.."
Maddie says, "There is the Penumbra. The Dark Umbra. The Garou recognize thirteen Near Realms -- she should not think this is all that there are, but they are thirteen of the largest and most permanent of the Realms -- plus the Dream Realm, and the tribal homelands that Topsy mentioned. Beyond those, there is the Deep Umbra. Even as a Theurge, she may never venture so far as that; Maddie has not. The Deep Umbra is a vast void, difficult to cross, and the stories say that there are other worlds entirely somewhere, for those who could stand to leave Gaia behind for long enough to search for them."
There is a sparkle in Kitty's eyes, "I always liked heading out on boats, across the empty seas.." she murmurs. "I can see the appeal in searching for the distant, lonely lands..." The cub turns away, staring out as though she could see off into the other worlds just by looking. "You need people who do that, right? Explorers? Seekers..? Talking of which, can you sail in the Penumbra?
Maddie has to consider that a moment. "She could in some places, although she would need to find a boat, or to bring it with her. She should warn Kitty, though, that the Deep Umbra is difficult to reach, and many who venture out into it do not return. If she does choose to explore it one day, she should make sure that she is well-prepared. And there is also much to be explored in the Penumbra and the Near Realms -- even now, she could find a place that no Garou has ever been, or an entire realm that did not exist until she arrived."
"I've been told, more than once, that a lot of the Umbra appears over time, a though it was made up on the spot," Topsy comments on her next return. "Take Unicorn. Did Unicorn come first, and humans just recall the time when the Gauntlet wasn't there and they could see him too? Or did humans somehow will him into existence with belief?"
Kitty considers that, and nods slowly. "I'm not talking of running off right now." she assures Maddie. "Just.. it'd be good to have an aim in life! Well, you know what I mean. It's not like we're short on things to do in general. Fix the bawn, for starters..." She trails off, then asks curiously, "What does the bawn look like from here, anyhow? Overgrown? Is that some sort of wyld-inspired blight? Or is it only Weaver and Wyrm that cause blights?" She smiles as Topsy reappears, "I *long* to meet him." she admits. "But I see what you're getting at.. It's.. fascinating."
"That actually brings Maddie back to the Domains that she was speaking of earlier," The Gnawer Theurge says. "Where she is now is called a Glen. A place where the energies of Gaia and the Wyld blend to create something that is vital and alive and primal. A Glen is a precious place to the Garou -- and this one has the potential to become a caern. The bawn, from what Maddie has seen of it through her mirror, is something else right now. It is a Wylding -- a domain where the Wyld is dominant and change is constant. Wyldings are both rare and dangerous -- where the Weaver has rules, or IS rules, which makes it predictable, the Wyld is defined by the absence of rules. She could be safe one moment, and in mortal danger the next."
Topsy pauses in her perambulations, folding her arms and balancing her weight squarely between her feet to listen.
Kitty nods slowly, "Okay." she murmurs. "So the bawn *was* a Glen, I guess? Before it was a bawn? And now it's a Wylding." She glances between the two, "And how does the Homeland.. or Homelands.. fit into all this? Where are *they*?" It's clear the cub is getting just a little overwhelmed as she tries to sort through it all in her head. But some things just aren't easily compartmentalized.
Maddie says, "Maddie suspects that the caern itself was a Glen, although the bawn would have just been ordinary woods." She looks to Topsy to see if the Ahroun has any better an idea, since she's at least slightly less new to the sept than the Gnawer. "The tribal homelands are smaller realms -- not counted among the thirteen Near Realms, though in many respects they are more important to the Garou tribes than the larger realms that any may access. She will let Topsy tell her of the Children of Gaia's homeland, though."
"Have you ever had a bubble-bath when you were small, dear?" Topsy asks. "With a rubber duck, and other toys? If the Umbra /was/ a bubble-bath, then the big toys that bob around pretty much in the same place would be the Major Realms... I expect the Atrocity Realm is the spiky plastic toy that some obnoxious little brother put in there to stab you in the butt. Then the little toys are the Minor Realms that don't change but that can get washed around with the water. The bubbles are all the other little realms and sub-realms and pockets."
"Do you know.. I never had a rubber duck." Kitty mentions, as a vague aside. "For some reason, my parents bought me a rubber shark toy instead.." Words spoken vaguely, while she thinks through the images. She blinks, and then her expression clears, "But it makes sense. Actually. What's the difference between 'Umbra' and 'Penumbra', by the way? I'm getting a little confused there.."
Maddie replies, "The Penumbra is a specific term -- it is just the part of the Umbra that overlaps most closely with the Realm. The Umbra may refer to any part of the spirit realm, whether..." She's interrupted, then, by a wolf-whistle that seems to come from directly behind Topsy, though Kitty doesn't see anyone back there.
Topsy spins with a speed utterly at odds with her superficial appearance of being plump and comfortable.
"Ah.. the Umbra is the whole bath, the Penumbra is the pictures you've drawn on yourself in bath crayon?" Oh dear, this analogy could go altogether Too Far in Kitty's hands. "So it mirrors you, reflects you, is part of you, but.." Belatedly, she realizes that there's something there, and she scrambles to her feet, resisting the temptation to flick straight into crinos. Just.
There's no sign of anyone where the whistle comes from, though a large coyote does trot out of the wooded area, his posture clearly indicating amusement. *Relax! A wolf-whistle for the pretty wolf ladies. It's only fitting, wouldn't you agree? But never you fear, your old cousin Coyote is an invited guest, you just ask your other friend.* He is using spirit speech, but neither Kitty nor Topsy have any trouble understanding him. And, indeed, should they turn to look, Maddie doesn't seem at all surprised by his appearance.
"Ah, their guest has arrived. He is late, though, as usual," says the Gnawer, earning a laugh from Coyote.
"Aha!" Topsy relaxes, although not entirely. Apparently, she knows Coyote, or at least Coyote's reputation. "Good evening!"
Kitty's eyes open wide, and she blinks, she couldn't understand Quack at all. Talking of which, where is Quack? With the thought, she turns her eyes towards the nearby for a moment, searching, before she gets her brain back in gear and turns back towards Coyote, bowing towards him. Everyone else can tease, but she's going with being overawed, for the time being.
Maddie sits back, content to remain silent now. She's made her bargain with Coyote, but how he keeps it, that's up to him...so long as he doesn't get _too_ out of hand, at least. As for the ducks, they're around in their usual spots around the park, although she may or may not see Quack specifically. This time, when he speaks, his voice comes from immediately over Kitty's shoulder, although he hasn't moved -- Kitty would get that whole 'hairs raising on the back of her neck' sensation as if she's being _watched_ from back there, too. *Oh, you're a polite one, aren't you?* he asks, but then the sensation vanishes. *But no sense in spoiling that just yet. This old Coyote does miss the day when he could be a spirit of wisdom or respect, so he'll take the chance to play pretend for a little while and be a teacher.*
Topsy smiles a little and watches.
"I.. I..." The cub tries to get a nice eloquent sentence out, but rather fails at first. "I am sure you are worthy of respect.." she murmurs finally, a helpless glance towards Maddie as she seeks a way to silently ask how she should address a coyote spirit. She swallows at the sensation of being watched, but she manages to keep her voice from quavering, now she's got going. "I would be glad of anything you would care to teach me."
The coyote trots up closer to Kitty. *If your teacher is doing her job, she'll have taught you that nothing in this world comes for free. And if you know your stories, you'll know that old Coyote has tried harder than anybody to get around that. Sometimes he does, sometimes not so much. But I'll tell you what, the one thing I hate more than anything is letting things get boring. So I think we should play a game. You win, and old Coyote will give you a little bit of his wisdom. But a wager isn't any fun if there aren't any stakes, don't you agree?* He lets out a pained sigh. *Now, your teacher won't let me take them _too_ high, so you can't go offering Coyote years of service, but I'm betting that you can come up with something fitting.*
Kitty actually audibly gulps. She patently has *no* idea what a spirit might want. Other than years of service, as already mentioned, which seems to be a little beyond. "I.. would.. be happy to consider a wager." she finally temporizes. "But I fear my own inexperience would put me at a significant disadvantage when offering something acceptable." Nothing helpful coming from the quiet Topsy, she looks back towards Maddie once more.
Maddie says only, "She is a Theurge. She must be able to figure out what to offer a spirit she does not know, and there is no better way to do that than by practicing it. Coyote has already told her things to help her make an offer, if she has been listening."
Kitty bites her lower lip. "Well.. it has to be something interesting, we've established that. Of course, my version of interesting, and yours.. might be very different..." She swallows nervously again. "However, you've also said you miss being a spirit of wisdom..." She bites her lip hard enough that a bead of blood appears, which she wipes away." A glance towards the lake, where the ducks play for a moment, "I suppose chasing ducks, first to catch one, is out of the question?" Not that she thinks she'd have an advantage with Quack over there somewhere, or anything. "Or a race, in lupus form.. I think you'd hold the advantage though, I've not been running as a four legged hunter very long..."
*No, no, no. We're talking about the stakes, not the game. If you win, then I share a bit of wisdom with you. But what do you give me if _I_ win?* Coyote replies. *You don't think your teacher would just give old Coyote free reign to pick the game, do you? Why, he might have asked you to scratch behind his ears!* Despite the seeming innocence of the phrase, something in the way the spirit says it makes it come across as quite lewd.
Kitty blinks to the ear scritching, blushing as she clumsily tries to stagger through the conversation. "Something you'd *want*? From *me*?" She looks blank, fighting the instinct to throw out the automatic 'But I'm useless' comments. "I.. could come and visit again, and listen to you, while you tell tales of times gone by? Or does that just count as more teaching..?" She is trying to hold her ground, but the inexperience of the cub is definitely showing. "I can offer you that respect that you are missing... and that, gladly."
*So you're saying you think old Coyote is a windbag?* he asks, though it's amusement rather than irritation in his tone. He tilts his head, apparently intrigued by the second of the offers, though. *And how would you do that?*
Kitty manages - somehow - not to whimper. "I meant more that you had seen more, and heard more, and knew more - than I could ever hope to know. And that I would be honored and grateful to hear more from you. I would be glad for any teaching. But, more than that, I would be glad to simply hear your words." She is chewing on her lip once more, "I could.. speak of you to the other youngsters..?" she offers. "Let them know that you are wise, and your words are worth the hearing. What you teach the young, will eventually pass to the Elders, given enough time. A small investment now, will lead to a greater future."
*Well, now, the first lesson that this old Coyote is going to teach you is to always make sure your offers expire. All you wolves are young compared to us, you know, and you don't want to be talking me up your whole life, not that I don't like a little flattery from a pretty girl. So we'll balance it out a bit -- before three cycles of the moon are out, you'll find at least three youngsters to tell about how wise Coyote is. But you've got to be convincing! How about that?*
Kitty smiles in open relief, "Yes." she agrees. "It's.. like being back in class. S.M.A.R.T. objectives!" She winces a little, "Who'd have thought that business courses would ever be useful here..?" She can't help laughing for the first time, amused finally, at the incongrouity of it all. "I would be glad to offer that to you. And I *will* be convincing!"
*And now that we've both put our ante's in the pot, the game begins!* Coyote exclaims gleefully. *You being a crescent moon, your teacher there wanted it to be a game of riddles. Just three, and I won't even ask you to come up with any of your own to stump me. Here's the first: Five hundred begins me, five hundred ends me, five in the middle is seen / First of all figures, the first of all letters, take up their stations between! / Join all together, and then you will bring / before you the name of a king. Who am I?*
Kitty frowns, thinking it through. "First of all letters is 'A'... first of all figures is '1'.." She gets up, starting to pace a little. "Five in the middle...? Roman numeral is 'V' for five.." The cub's brow furrows, and she twists her own fingers through her hair. "Oh.. 1-V-A? A-V-1? What's five hundred in numerals? L is fifty, C one hundred.. what's.. well, what letter would fill..." She closes her eyes tightly, trying to visualize, before she suddenly literally bounces into the air. "D! It's a D! David!! King David!!"
Coyote laughs at her enthusiasm, clearly quite pleased with both it and with her answer. *Well done, well done. In the spirit of this place, I offer you the second: You saw me where I never was and where I could not be. And yet within that very place, my face you often see. What am I?*
This one is harder, apparently - girls who read lots of books can pick up on roman numerals, but this is more esoteric. She swallows, "Faces are clocks, often.. but that doesn't sound right.. The moon has a face - but we see that where it is, up in the sky." She's clearly struggling, "Ummm.. give me a minute... I'm not giving up..."
Coyote waits patiently, although he offers no further hints than the one he already gave. Maddie and Topsy, likewise, offer silent encouragement, but little more.
In the spirit of the place..? Kitty looks around, before pausing. "Hang on.. we're here.. but here isn't 'here'. And you showed me, on that first day..." She rattles through various possibilities, testing them out and discarding them, before she suddenly smiles. "A mirror! No.. not quite a mirror - the reflection in a mirror. Seeing yourself *in* another place..?"
*You had old Coyote thinking he was going to fool you, even when you had to step through a reflection to get here. Let's see if he can get you with his third one: I am, in truth, a yellow fork, from tables in the sky / By inadvertent fingers dropped, the awful cultery / Of mansions never quite disclosed, and never quite concealed / The apparatus of the dark, to ignorance revealed.* He sighs a bit. *I know, I know, the first rhyme is a bit of a stretch. But still, what am I?*
"Sunbeams?" Kitty muses. "They come down in rays.. but not exactly forklike.. I assume getting two out of three here is just not good enough..? Umm.. What else is in the sky.. Shooting stars, thunder.. oh. Lightning." Even now she doesn't seem sure, "Yellow fork, fair enough but..." She wrinkles her nose, "I'm not quite sure it fits..? The apparatus of the dark, to ignorance revealed? Ummm... It rings bells, somewhere along the way. I'm not sure but.. I think that's the best I've got." She turns her dark eyes hopefully to Coyote, surreptitiously crossing her fingers.
Coyote clucks his tongue at her, yet another oddly human-like gesture coming from a body that doesn't look built for it. *Take a little hint from your cousin Coyote -- be more confident. Don't matter if you're right or wrong, you'll look strong doing it, and sometimes that can make all the difference in whether you win or lose. Lucky for you, this time you got it right. Now lean on down here and let Coyote whisper some sweet nothings in your ear.*
There is a glance towards Maddie, just to be sure, before she pads forward and crouches down at Coyote's side. "I suppose scritching your ears is right out of the question?" She smiles slightly, and quiets to listen. It really *is* worth paying close attention to spirits when they want to talk, she thinks...
Coyote, old lech that he is, doesn't actually whisper -- she gets a tongue in her ear, instead. Thankfully, though, he's behaving enough that it just feels like getting her ear licked by a dog. And he _is_ true to his word. She can feel her perception of the noises that surround her shift when he does it, can understand the murmurings of the various spirits, and she can intuitively sense how to speak so that her words, although still sounding normal to those around her, can also conveying their meaning in a similar fashion to the spirits.
Kitty giggles as her ear is licked. "Hey!" she protests.. although she is immediately entranced as she realizes that the sounds about her are starting to make sense. "Oh.. Thank you! Thank you so much!" Unthinking, she moves to wrap her arms around Coyote for a moment, hugging unless he prevents her. "That's just.. amazing! It's all so.. big!"
Maddie, for her part, sighs and rolls her eyes when Coyote licks Kitty’s ear. There'll be a moment of confusion for Kitty at the hug, when she's not quite sure if it's a man or a coyote that she's hugging, as if the spirit is neither and both at the same time, before it resolves more firmly into its four legged form. *You remember your old cousin Coyote when you're all grown up and looking for a pack. You do that, and you'll get to see plenty more amazing things, because like I told you, there's nothing I hate more than being bored.* And with that, the spirit is gone as if he never was.
END
