December 23, 2002.12.23.02. - family and whiskey [levon-lars-erik][pine barrens, batsto village]
(james)
another hitch has dropped him halfway
there's something that he saw down on the Boardwalk
and he had to make the trip back to get it
getting there was the easy part
it was getting back that was always hard
at least he was able to get from AC to Batsto in one fell swoopor... ride....
tank boots crunch on the snow
the Jansport pack thumps soft against his back with each step
two long rebar sticks clanking in cadent rhythm
hands in what most people call rags and he calls gloves are shoved into the patchwork (glyphwork) trench pockets
dreads hang heavy around his neck cause he doesn't have a scarf
but he doesn't seem to mind it
he doesn't seem to mind the cold
in fact, there's something of a warm grin on his featureshe's happy with his day
(levon conway)
-Roscoe's tail is stiffer than a board, it points straight out horizontal, in a way it hasn't in...years. Lee's plain brown eyes can't seem to focus on one thing. There are too many trees, too many shadows, too many variables to see anything with even a smidgeon of clarity. A hand lifts and pushes back an errant long thin braid from her face, and the dog at her side lets out another warning bark, a sound that ends up a cross between a hound dog's bellowing bark and a wolf's howl, hard to place....unless you've heard it before and know the source.- Shhhhh, you're gonna bring it right over here..... - Her hands worry themselves with the seemingly thousands of braids hanging over one shoulder as she peers out into the pine trees, feet glued to the dirty, leaf laden ground-(lars mckinnon)
Pause.Stillness.
Silence.
The echo of that howl fading only now amongst the shuddering pines.
Head lifting as nostrils flare to taste the air. Eyes closing as he takes the deepest of breaths.
Jacket tossed to the ground as there is but a moment of shattering-shivering body.
Not quite man.Not quite beast. Softly trodding in between.
Lungfuls filled with the echo that is pitched. Pitched not to alert the whole forest of his presence but hopefully just one.
Just one. Yet there is only so much control even one such as he has. Any ears alert for such sounds on the outskirts of Batsto might very well catch it too.
Its a strong sound. Confidant nearly arrogant yet melodic in its sound.
A howl of authority but not claim. Not his land. Aversion to entering the village. Passing through.
(james)
that's odd
and his head tilts, listening to that single, strange sound
bark.... howl? huh?
that's something he hasn't heard for awhile
that's something he hasn't heard since he's been in New Jersey, honestly
cause that? is familygloved hands pull out from those pockets
reaching up to form a megaphone around his mouth
lungs fill with the chilled air
which is expelled in a short, loud... bark?he looks like some homeless guy
and most of those homeless guys just ain't right
so is there any question he's barking back at a dog?(lee)
-A bark. A howl, of sorts. The hair along Lee's neck bristles and she looks from the woods, to the winding street in front of her house, and then with a scowl on her face she turns her attention back to Roscoe.- Why did you do that? Now they're going to come here... -She exclaims with more than mild irritation. If keen ears were closer they could hear the jack rabbit thumping of her heart in her chest. Roscoe's ears switch, one up one down, but never both up at the same time. His tail stays straight and the old man lets out a huff, a puff of smoke pushes from his muzzle, giving him the look of some disfigured dragon dog thing. - Arooooooffff - Comes the sound from the old dog again, much to the quiet dismay of the small, waifish young woman at his side. They say a wolf's howl can travel, on quiet nights, almost a hundred miles. Roscoe doesn't have the energy to force out a loud, proud anything....but it's enough to tell any that may understand or be near....I am here, with my kin....-(lars)
The second echo causes him to pause again.Beast in the woods. Wild thing in the woods. Wild feral depths narrowing as nose scents the air once more.
Another?
Not your business. Yet, still there were too many (lost) unheard of and (gone) missing these nights to take chances.
Head cocking to the side as breath pants on the air to taste what nose only hints in.
Patience is a fleeting thing but for the moment holds.
Silence.
(james)
Aroooooffff
well, that answered everything
and the homeless man (obviously a few cents short) nods to himself
dreads slithering across trenchcoated shouldersallright James, this way then.
and he leaves the road
momentarily, he abandons his path home
and makes a segue towards a cabin
and then back around behind it
a bit tentative in his creep
he knows people regularly carry guns out in these parts
(not like they didn't in the inner city within which he grew up... of course)
chin lifting to see the woman and her canine companion at the edge of the property by the fence"Aroo?"
(levon)
-Lee jumps nearly out of her skin at James' little 'aroo', and Roscoe, he seems only slightly tense....but the sight of James eases the knots rising in his tired and old shoulders. He sits, sure that whatever lurks in the forest isn't intent on harming his kin. With rosy cheeks from fear and chilly air, and wrapped in layers of jackets and sweaters and a heavy coat, with long thin dark braids that fall to her waist, the too thin (sickly) young woman attempts to push her hair back from her face as she surveys the new arrival. Roscoe, meanwhile, lets out another huff and sits back on his haunches, amber reddish odd eyes now quietly focused on James - Hi. - She sees quietly, hands finding a home in the pockets of her thick nylon coat.-(lars)
The Thing in the woods catches scent then (downwind) of that which is so few yards between It and They.Scent that is City and Dirty and Wyld...nostrils flare then close as a soft snort announces almost a dismissal.
Kin to kin. He wouldn't dismiss it. For now at least though it isn't the time.
There is always the way back. And now? He knows where some of them at least area.
Strange that they would hole up here when there was a large City nearby.
Yet stranger much have happened.
Shift of body in crunching sounds as the silence around him prevades. The only movement now as everything else is frozen around him.
(james)
"Hi there."grinned
easily, warmly
at both her and the dog
if anything's out for harm
it obviously isn't him
(though if you saw him last night when the moon was full...)
in fact, he looks a bit sheepish"Heard your boy there shout out... didn't mean to startle you."
and while he's in a good mood
and while he's visably more relaxed than a few nights ago
his Rage is still as swollen as the almost full moon that will appear above
it floats around him like an invisable gauntlet
but he does his best to seem like he doesn't notice
how could he? with that easy grin..."Something wrong?"
(levon)
-Her nose is small, her features delicate. Yet, there is nothing beautiful or memorable about Lee, except for perhaps her frail weight. Her lips are full, not thin. Her nose is pug and small, not sharp or angled. Her hands shake like the branches of the pine trees around them.- This, this is Roscoe....-Her eyes wander to the dog at her side, while he still peers up at James with tired eyes that have seen far too much. James' rage rolls from his presence and bounces off Lee, leaving her thin frame shuddering in its wake. Her gloved hands look to his gloved hands and her breathing ceases, for a long moment and she sighs out a single sound- Oh...(erik)
Walks through the village purposefully, definitely a man with somewhere to go. Any othersout ont he streets shy away from him once and if they get a good look at his face. Horribly scared he has been, and wears them with the dark pride he is known for, though now he lets his hair hang in his face, long and black and obscuring his uglyness.He's got the sense that James isn't too far away now. Moves around alot for a 'Gnawer.
(lars)
And movement once more as fingers wrap leather around once more.
Feet moving in attempt to leave behind the encounters that would only fuel a fire already burning this night.
Another night perhaps. Perhaps not.Minutes afterwards in passage there is but a sigh in the woods. The soft cry of night birds and small furry creatures returning to their busy work as the thing which drove them away has finally left the woods behind.
(james)
his shoulders sag a little bit, as her eyes drop
he knows that reaction
(he knows how Decker feels all the time)
and he makes a point not to get too close
in fact, he doesn't even really draw any closer
though that soft grin still stays there
even if he knows what his Rage does to her
... he's just too damn used to being around kin like Imogen"Hey Roscoe.... name's James."
though to whom exactly he said that
has yet to be determined
at least he's finally looking up at her"I didn't mean to impose or anything, but he sounded like he wouldn' mind a hand with whatever got his attention."
there's that itchy feeling again
right between his shoulderblades
pack
y'know? for a Get?
Erik sure moves around a lot....(erik)
He passes many houses, all with their families wrapped up good and tight against the night's chill. Good for them, but he prefers to walk with his jacket open tonight. He passes another, and another house, and knows he is mere feet away...Then he hears voices. voices he doesn't know, and he stops. He is all quiet now, and shadow, hard to see even standing in the open.
(levon)
-It is not his rage, so much, that sets her on edge. It's his presence. What he is. He's a strange Garou, and though he is obviously blood....it makes her uneasy. Lee offers a smile, not as warm as James', but she tries. Roscoe, having decided that whatever it was in the woods is gone, offers a rather weak growl/whine/bark towards James. Lee, continues to push her hair from her face with gloved hands, eyes finally lifting almost defiantly to peer over at James.- Hello James....Roscoe....yeah he thought he heard something...he's so old he'd of lost teeth if he actually had to bite someone....-Another smile as she glances down at the old mutt, who offers a whine that could be construed as, likely, fuck off.-(james)
well
dreadlocked raggedy man
walking out of nowhere and into her backyard
talking to her dog as much as her
it's enough to set anybody on edge
honestly
garou, kin, or nothe seems to know that
but it's still hard for him
he hates making people uneasy he doesn't mean to
he's just to mellow for his own good, sometimes"You'd be amazed at how effective gumming someone to death is."
wry grin raking across his features
"You new around here? Haven't run into much family in the area..."
he's well aware of the presence just out of sight
even if he hasn't openly greeted it yet
or even made any overt sign that he knows
pretty sure his alpha has a reason for hanging back
so there's just a low sound, a soft chuff
riding silent on Eagle's wings(erik)
Hmm. Everything seems on the up and up. Its just that, well, his appearance, especially if sudden, tends to set the sheep to runnin.But James is there, and the kid knows that Erik is there also....
He just wanted to talk to the kid for a sec. Be with pack.
Decker's gone, in case anyone has noticed.So, after a moment the crunch of his boots can be heard rounding the house.
(levon)
-The old mutt at her side peers from James to behind him, and back to the woods. For ears that listen there are short spurts of meaning and words. Beyond the simplicity of a canine or lupus kinfolk. No, the sounds are a mixture of whines and pitches and soft growly barks, each tone holding a meaning and words that mortal ears (and even kin ears mostly) cannot hear. Lee, is different that most kin. Had Roscoe not identified her as such....the out come and their judgment of what she may have been would likely of been different. There is something spiritual about Lee, something that is more apart of the Garou than is so in most Kinfolk. The words the mutt speaks are simple Roscoe-Gnaws-the-bone Theurge the long roll call of his Garou name is forgotten, as he peers up at Lee. - No, I used to live in this house...but I live in North Jersey.....now....(levon)
-Plain brown eyes shift to peer at Erik, and if Lee were uncomfortable before, the hair on her arms are standing on end now. Roscoe is now intent upon Erik, and he stays close to his kin, protectively.- I don't ....socialize much... - She replies quietly to James.(erik)
He approaches smiling, though to Levon and Roscoe it looks like a cross between an sneer and an open challenge. Toothyness all pulled down on one side by the scars."Heya." The greeting seems to include everyone, even Roscoe. "Don't worry, I know I'm ugly so ya can stare all ya want. How's it goin, Kid?"
(james)
yea, he's noticed allright
and he has a good idea of just why... though not where
but it's not his place to question
so he didn't
but his attention is focused (openly) on Lee
and the long string of sounds that mean a conversation from Roscoe"Really? Up where I am.... but I hadn't run into many of us up there, other than Howl. Good to know."
for whatever that's worth
and when boots crunch on the snow behind him
he turns
nodding up at Erik with that trademark easy grin"Good, Erik. Just on my way back up from AC and ran into some family."
(levon)
-When James shifts his attention to Erik Lee's shoulders relax and she leans a bit to one side, gloved hand stroking the top of Roscoe's head tenderly. She listens, just doesn't speak....-(erik)
"Family, eh? that's cool. Well, good to meecha."(james)
his grin doesn't leave
even a nervous stranger?
as family? is'all good"Well..... if you ever need anything Northside... Roscoe'll know how to find me."
yep, Barking Chain
he's pretty well known in it up there
one bark leads to another, and all that
and he makes a move to leave
(he knows how nervous she is with two strange Garou around)
but doesn't go more than a shift of weight
Alpha's here, Alpha's call(erik)
"Cool." He watches the kin and her dog take their leave, as he and James find a new space to talk. Perhaps back further in the trees and darkness.(james)
there's a bit of a wave at the Kin
but he turns and follows his Alpha
into the darkness, into the trees
y'know, most others wouldn't follow a man that looks like Erik anywhere
but the Gnawer?
he follows without a doubt"You needed me for something?"
he's getting good at reading the expressions carved by the scars
the I was looking for you one getting rather familiar
plus, he knows Erik doesn't just show up for no reason, too(erik)
Well, suprise suprise, and, you learn something new every day... "Actually... No. I was just lookin fer company."(james)
that you do
and it shows with a slightly lifted brow
he gets over it pretty quickly, though"Oh, good, saves me from carrying this back myself, then."
the Jansport is shifted on one shoulder form front to back
the zipper pulled and a gloved hand reaches inside
pulling out what seems to be a bottle in a plain brown paper bag
a big bottle
and he holds it out to his Alpha"Merry Christmas, Erik."
it's whiskey
damn good whiskey
and while it's nothing big and out of the ordinary?
it's that giving season
(well, it always is for James)
Erik shouldn't have to buy his own for once(erik)
He sneers, but for once the smile in his eyes shines brighter than the fanatic light, and reveals a smile for real. "Is it christmas already? Fuck... Well... Let's drink it!"(james)
"Well, in a day or two."but with Erik's penchance for going on his little trips
better safe to give it now than let it sit around with condo
and with that snee...er.. smile, well, the Gnawer all but beams
even above fighting for Gaia
what drives him is to make others happy
especially others he cares for like he does the pack"Your bottle Erik, though you'll probably end up carrying my drunk ass back Northside."
yes, we all know James can't drink
at all.
but that doesn't mean he's going to pass this up(erik)
Posted by james at December 23, 2002 12:00 AM
He cracks the bottle and takes a long hit, sputters a bit, then holds out the bottle to James. This goes on for a while, another bottle is stolen, thanks to the alpha's gifts until the two are carrying eachother out into the forest, where they will have to sleep it off.
CommentsPost a comment