solstice.

[Simon] He smirks his head."This is the Summer Fuckin' Solstice... I could give a flying fuck what the other garou think. This is a fucking holiday that has been practiced by our ancestors for a hundred fucking thousand years. So if they're out there laughing their asses off I honestly couldn't give a shit what they think cause I full intend on lightin' shit up and celebrating another year... Another fucking year that this world is still here because of us!"He says this with a bit of a snarl in his voice.

"I'm lightin' this shit up... I am gonna light this shit up so bright that they'll see it from the fuckin' space station!"He says pointing his middle finger at the sky."Summer is fuckin' coming! You and me... We gotta bring it in. Burn baby burn! That's what the whole thing is about!"There his eyes were ablaze with passion and fury as he spoke walking towards Roman.

"They wanna sit their asses down in the distance and watch that's fine with me. But this fire is going up as it does every year. Cause that's what matters right there. This is about standing up and celebrating in the middle of a war. We're born, and we fight, and we die and we've been doing this shit now since the dawn of fuckin' time."

"Tonight they're gonna hear us scream. Tonight we remind them that no matter what you fuckin' do to us we're still here and we ain't goin' no where till this war is fuckin' over!"He looks up at the sky."YOU HERE THAT MOTHER FUCKERS? WE'RE STILL FUCKIN' HERE!"He says this in a furious tone and in that fury his form suddenly erupts into something far more massive, the gargantuan black wolf-thing tears from his flesh and his voice is replaced by a powerful echoing Howl which carried itself across the sky into the woods in every direction. It was a summons, calling to any of his kind who can hear it... It was also a challenge to any threat that might be lurking to bring it on. Tonight is one of those few nights the Wyrm would be smarter to pack up it's bags and simply hide away. Because this night belonged to the wolves!

[Kora] Sometime between the end of the afternoon and full dusk, another arrives. She cannot drive, so it isn't clear how she got here. Too far for a cab, and she wouldn't be able to carry that cooler and the nice, eco-friendly shopping bag through the umbra, running as a wolf. Roman and Simon might be out there gathering the wood necessary to build up the bonfire. The sound of tires on the graveled parking lot, and then someone else walking through the woods heralds her arrival. The cooler is large, battered, and orange. It bumps against her thighs with every step. She uses both hands to hold it since the carry-handle is broken. The shopping bag dangles from her right hand.

- or, no. They're back, right. Simon's shifted wildly into his warform and Kora stops at the entrance to the clearing, half-way through his speech, her arms still around the heavy cooler. "I hope those are his dedicated clothes," the Fenrir woman remarks quietly, directly to Roman, " - because if he gets naked in front of my Alpha's mate, I'll have to teach him a lesson in etiquette. Better me than Joe, anyway."

With that, the creature puts down the cooler and turns around, heading back toward the parking lot to grab anything Drew might need help with.

[Drew Roscoe] Kora had arrived by way of a big rumbling Dodge Ram, something painted in a nice dark cherry coat that was well cared for by regular washes, check-ups, and fluid flushes. The beautiful thing of irony was that the driver was not some tall man with a farmer's tan and working man muscles, but instead a rather petite specimen of woman. Kora had gone on ahead with some shopping bags and one cooler while Drew worked to fanangle some folding chairs and one more cooler out of the back of her truck.

She'd paused while Kora was away to listen to the bellowing snarl-howl coming from the direction of the firepits, actual words but in a language she would never understand. She thought back to her first experience at one of these events, a year ago precisely, then shrugged her shoulders, shook her head, and hopped down out of the truck bed to load the couple of folding lawn chairs up onto one shoulder, then the cooler onto one hip. Juggling supplies like this, she began to walk out into the trees.of

She'd meet Kora partway down to the firepits and hand the cooler over to her, letting the Skald take more of the weight so she was left with the chairs up on one shoulder and a single shopping bag looped around her wrist. While they exchanged things between hands and started walking again, Drew looked up at Kora from under the bill of the old red Coca-Cola ballcap she was wearing and tried to press concern out of her face and voice both.

"What was all that yowling about? Is someone losing their mind down there?"

[Roman Turner] He had listened, watched and blinked with so many thoughts going through his head at once that about the only one that started to come out was...Moon touched...but Kora turned up and saved him.

"I er. Well ma'am, I ain't right sure. He just might end up naked as a jay bird. Course right now he's a mite bit busy howling about announcing to the universe where we are, I reckon."

[Simon] When he returns to his birth form he is in fact still clothed which might relieve Kora but her words had apparently drawn his attention with a hint of challenge. The full moon shrugged his shoulders and smiled back at her."We're here to celebrate... Not hole ourselves up and surround ourselves with the gloom that eats away at us every day."As he says this he looks towards the woods around them."We're alive right now... And right now the greatest thing we could ever do to honor those who are not with us. Is to live that life right?"He asks as he approaches Kora to hold his hands out as if asking to take the Cooler for her.

"We gotta get this shit set up right? So when the others do start arriving we can get things rolling."

[Kora] "Scaring off the Wyrm," Kora explained, quietly to Drew as she accepted the cooler with an easy sort of grace, all animal underneath her skin. She offers the explanation easily, as if it made sense. " - nothing to worry about, except possibly some public nudity."

After that quiet exchange some distance from the clearing itself, Kora and Drew return to the clearing. In honor of the bonfire, the Skald was wearing her dedicated jeans and old Dr. Marten's, tired neatly at the calves. In deference to the heat of the afternoon, lingering still into what should be the cool hours of early evening, she added a black camisole to the ensemble, the fabric a sharp contrast against her northern skin, thin straps revealing the bony architecture of her narrow shoulders, the subtle muscle definition of her upper arms.

Once they reach the clearing, Kora touches Simon with her dark eyes, a direct look that holds his - just - before she hands off the cooler when he holds out his arms. "I'm not given to absolutes or superlatives like that, but I'm down with honoring life by living it," her mouth is curved upward at the right corner, the hint of a smirk.

"Drew," the Skald continues, lifting her chin at Roman. "This is Roman. Roman, this is Drew, kin to my tribe. And - " a curious glance at Simon, "I'm not sure we've met before."

[Roman Turner] "Howdy Miss Drew."

He touched the brim of the straw hat he wore with dark Wrangler jeans that were so stiff they looked like they might of been pressed. A simple tee shirt in gray completed his outfit.

"That there is Simon, but I'll let him tell the particulars."

He stepped towards Drew to help her with her things.

"May I?"

[Drew Roscoe] The Kinfolk had, as was typical for her, dressed practically for the bonfire. She might not know that moss grows on the north side of trees, but she did know that wood and deer ticks had a fine habit of getting in your hair and anywhere else you let them. She did know that while her feet would sweat, it was just plain dumb to wear flip-flops out in the woods, that was asking for torn toenails and prickly weeds between your toes. So she'd dressed accordingly: hair in a ponytail that came out the back of her baseball cap, dressed in a plain gray wifebeater that did nothing but compliment the surprisingly athletic structure of her shoulders and arms, a pair of old battered cut-off shorts, and a pair of hiking boots with the socks underneath pulled up to the middle of her calves.

She was still balancing the chairs on her shoulder when Kora made to give out introductions, her left arm wrapped up around them to make sure they weren't going anywhere, her right hand wrapped around the flimsy handles of the plastic bag she was carrying-- one full and heavy with packages of bratwurst and hamburgers. She was glancing between the large bonfire fit and the smaller ones intended for cooking when her attention was drawn back by the Skald speaking her name.

Big brown eyes hopped to Roman's face first, who she greeted with a brilliant thousand-watt smile-- the kind that won beauty pageants and got you into places you weren't supposed to be and ensured that you nailed that interview you were sitting in the office for. "Hey," she greeted with a voice that was friendly like sunshine and warm like honey in your tea. "Nice to meetcha."

She was irony embodied, it was a stretch to believe that this girl was Kin to a tribe of Nordic warriors and notorious barbaric hardasses.

The boy gave a name to the man with dark hair and tattoos scrawled down his arms, and Drew beamed a smile at the Shadow Lord as well, offering him a like greeting: "Good to meet you too." Then Roman was stepping forward, offering to help carry things. She looked at his hat for a moment, then down somewhere around the waist/hips region (searching for a rodeo belt buckle no doubt) before her smile turned into a broader kind of grin and she nodded, handing the lawn chairs off to him. "Thanks. I was gonna start with cooking, but... Well, we don't start these things with sticks and straw, do we?"

Where's a fire tornado when you need one?, came the inward reflection, a joke she would've stated aloud if anyone else had heard the story or been present for the situation to appreciate it.

[Colt Montgomery] ~The black Denali followed the roads to where they'd meet in the woods, he parked looking over at the Dodge, parking his GMC near it. He stepped out, walking around to the back and pulling out a large white coleman cooler through the back window. he left the back open and headed down to where some of the others had gathered, he set the cooler down~ "I stopped by the butcher and got some steaks... I'm sure the Jaral will show up with a doe or something that we can all bite on"

~Dresed in exotic ostrich skin Nocona boots, low-rise, deep indigo rinsed jeans look expensive, finished with fading and whisking to enhance their appeal. the bleached white tee shirt fit snug across his chest, his body chiseled, the outlines of his well defined muscles visible. He stands six foot three, dark curls hidden beneath the straw cowboy hat that sat low on his brow~

"Howdy Kora, Simon" ~he gave a nod to the others~

[Simon] He grins back to Kora."Listen to that fancy tongue of yours. Someone's got herself a proper education hasn't she?"He kept his tone light and playful. After all it wasn't exactly an insult to admit someone might be a little better educated was it? He takes the cooler in his arms, and seemed to have little trouble lugging the thing towards one of the fire pits where it was settled in and he stood. His eyes going to Drew, Roman, and finally to Kora.

He strode back to the group and wiped his hands off on his jeans before offering up his hand to Kora."Simon, Bone-Grinder, Full Moon, Cliath in service to Thunder."He adds politely to the woman keeping his hand presented out to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Roman and I were beginning to suspect that we were the only ones who ere gonna show. But I was reassuring him this was too important a meeting to count the others out just yet."He was surprisingly warm and friendly for a Shadow Lord. Certainly his manners almost implied some other tribe, but then again he was young. Not quite as young as Roman but still rather young himself. Then again Full Moons don't tend to advance all that much further than Simon's own.

He looks between the ladies and smiled."So who wants to help me get things ready for the fire?"

[Simon] He turns his attention towards Colt and he grins brightly."Nice to see you made it out big guy."He looked over Colt's outfit and whistled to himself."Jesus christ those boots are probably worth more than my car!"He laughs and presents a hand out to the Fenrir."You gonna help us get this shit started up?"

[Colt Montgomery] ~he took Simons hand and gave it a shake~ "Good thing I got them dedicated" ~he grinned~ "They were a gift, glad ya like em.... Yes. put this country boy to work"

[Kora] "Kora," the creature introduces herself, dark eyes tracking to Simon's proffered hand for a passing moment before lifting upwards to touch on his face. She takes the hand at last, this human gesture in the midst of an inhuman ritual, her generous mouth curved into a faint smile, self-aware, enlivened by a confidence that is as human as it is feral, " - Eyjólfsdóttir to my kin, she who offers sorrow to the Nation. Cliath Skald and daughter of Fenris, fostered at the Sept of Wind and Rain in Hjaltland. Now, I follow Joe War-Handed, Alpha of Aesir's Call."

Somewhere in the middle of this, Kora released Simon's hand. Her own drop to her side, the fingers of her left hand hook in the hip pocket of her jeans. "Colt," the faint twist of her mouth. " - good to see you. Colt, Simon, this is Drew. Roman," hey, she's Julie the Cruise Director tonight, with a jerk of her pale head toward Colt. " - this is Colt, my tribesmate. You two can exchange particulars on your own, if you've a mind.

"Let's get the cook fire started first, then build the bonfire, yeah?" says Kora to the group at large, bending to lift the lid from the heavier of the two coolers. "We brought the beer." Good stuff, too. She pulls a bottle from the slurry of ice and water, offers one to Drew, then goes back for another, holding the cooler open for anyone who wants one. "I've got a stout, a pale ale, and a Heifeweizen."

[Colt Montgomery] ~he looked to Drew~ "Pleased to meet ya" ~he was texan through and through, even the big ole belt buckle, he tipped his hat to the jarals mate, he was happy to help and take orders from his tribemen~

[Moira] The dark-haired kin arrives alone, existing out of the passenger door of a jeep that had pulled up along the dirt pathway to a stop near Drew's truck. A pretty blond woman peering out of the driver's window towards the bonfire and the gathering of Garou. The blond's head turns, exchanging looks with Moira for a moment as she frowns a little.

"You sure you don't want to come, Jenny?" Moira calls over her shoulder, jumping down out of the jeep. She turns around, reaching into the back to fetch her knapsack and a duffel bag. She smiles, slipping it on over her shoulder and waits for reply. "Nah, got work to do and stuff... call me if you need a ride back."

"Will do." Moira steps back, shutting the door and starts to walk around the jeep, heading in the direction of the bonfire. Her eyes cast about to see who was already there.

[Simon] He smiles at the mention of Joe yet again."I hope your Alpha shows up, I think I'd like to meet with him. I've heard of him but haven't had the chance to do much meeting of him."He laughs to himself as he draws his hand back and nods his head at Kora's suggestion. He wasn't beaming quite so much at the mention of starting up the cooking fires though cause he wanted to work on the bonfire! Technically the other chores needed to be handled first so he choked back the pouty face and stepped up to the plate. After all it would serve no one here is the Full Moon started crying cause he didn't get his way!

"Colt and I know each other... We met a while back."Hmm I hope someone brought somethin' to roast."All he brought was booze, which is fine and good but he had expected that the food would be handled by someone else so he didn't honestly bother. He showed up earlier to get the fire started anyway.

[Drew Roscoe] A cooler was cracked open and a chilled bottle of beer was handed over to the Kinfolk, which she accepted with a smile and a nod of thanks. Roman had accepted the chairs, a polite gentleman right at the get-go Drew deduced, the product of the kind of raising that came with thinking wranglers and a cowboy hat look good. So Drew had the chance to twist the top off her beer bottle and give it a good swig before casting another glance about the clearing.

People were showing up now. She noticed Moira entering at the edge of the treeline from along the beaten path, then some man named Colt was being introduced. She watched him for a second, let her eyes linger on his shoulders and chest (some might think that she was checking him out, but the truth was she was judging about how much effort it would take for him to separate her head from her shoulders with only his hands. people around here were dangerous and worth watching, after all), then lifted them to his face and flashed that winning smile of hers as though thoughts of murder didn't even make an appearance in her mind. "Pleased to meet you too, Colt. Always good to see more family."

Another swig from her beer was taken, and she moved to the pits where the cooking fires were normally set up, set her bag of brats and burgers down and put her hands on her denim-clad hips to stare down at the little huddles of wood in the pit. It didn't occur to her to bring matches or lighter fluid or anything of the like-- every other time she's come the fires had already been in full blaze.

[Roman Turner] He seemed to pull his attention back with a sheepish smile for Drew. The entire time she had been standing there he was trying not to gawk. This made the fourth beautiful female he had met with breeding out the rear. Once again he was glad he did not wear loose fitting pants because they would tent up and embarrass the hell out of him.

"Yes ma'am."

Was all he got out.

[Colt Montgomery] "I got steaks in the coleman, Joe tends to bring half dead deer, or so i noticed at the last moot" ~he was moving around, looking for wood for the cookin fire, he wondered when the rest of the troop would show up. He walked over to Roman and extended a hand~ "Howdy, don't think we met. Colt Montgomery, Culls the Beast"

[Kora] "Somebody's got to hold down the fort," is Kora's oblique reply to Simon's hope that War-Handed arrives soon. There's a moment, then, when her fine features are blank, vaguely, the visible suggestion that she's speaking with her packmate through their spiritual bond. The smile she seems to always wear goes just slack, then quirks again as she refocuses on the clearing. "There's enough fuel here to start a cook fire. Colt - Roman, can you guys get one built and started? Once it's blazing, let's start throwing fuel on the bonfire."

The audible sound of Moira's footsteps on the path, the hint of her breeding in the air. Kora looks up, waves across the clearing at the Fenrir kinswoman, then jerks her head at Simon. "C'mon. Let's find some good, dry wood." - she says, taking a good long drink of her beer before finding a picnic table on which to rest it before heading off into the woods, past Moira as she arrives. "Hey Moira," brief and quiet and rich as her voice always is, " - we'll get the fires lit, soon. Your mate coming?"

The last, tossed over her shoulder as she heads off into the woods, Simon in tow, intent on finding something to burn.

[Roman Turner] He took Colt's extended hand in a firm grip and shook it briefly.

"Roman Turner, Fate. Right nice to meetcha."

Then Kora was asking about starting the fire and he glanced her way then back to Colt with a lifted brow.

"I believe we can, Miss Kora."

[Colt Montgomery] ~he grinned at Roman~ "Hey partner, I know your cousin Sparrow, haven't seen her in a bit, but would love to catch up with her soon" ~his own hand shake was firm, but not overwhelming, he had calloused hands, that were used to hard labor and living on the ranch~ "Let's get to work man" ~he went with Roman to gather wood~

[Roman Turner] "How do ya know Sparrow?"

He certainly didn't know everyone his cousin did and he'd given up trying to keep track a long time ago, but it was a conversation starter as he went with Colt so they could get the fire going.

"Simon and I gathered some wood earlier, though it ain't gonna last all night for sure."

[Moira] Moira passes Kora and Simon on her way towards the table. She pushes the strap of her knapsack higher up on her shoulders, nodding her head to Kora. "Hey, Kora." offering the Skald a grin, "I am not certain if he is or not. I haven't seen him all day, I hope he comes or I'm going to have to get creative with finding a ride home."

She pats the bag, "I brought some food along with me, I'll set it up over on the table. I just hope it's enough." She continues on her way after talking with Kora, making her way over to the tables where the food is usually set up.

[Colt Montgomery] ~he started gathering wood while speaking with Roman~ "I met sparrow at the park when I first came to the city couple months ago. she said ya'll came from kansas and were' lookin for a pack. My packmate Cara and i followed some spirals to Idaho and took em out.. then opted to check out Chicago. They actually slaughtered two of my packmates back in Texas... " ~he looked back to the boy~ "So did ya'll figure on a pack yet?"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The sun is setting on the longest day -- shadows of trees long across the earth. The bonfire isn't lit yet; it's not even properly built, only a cleared-out area of rock-lined dirt piled with a few pallets and crates.

There's a distant rumble of diesel engines: some big, fullsized pickup, Dodge or Chevy or Ford or something like that pulling up. A few other engines too, smaller and quieter, possibly import. They fall quiet. A few moments later Lukas shows up in the clearing, a large cooler hoisted over his shoulder. He drops it by the cooking fires.

"More meat," he says, "courtesy of the BroHo. They brought out a truckload of wood too. You guys want to give the kin a hand unloading it?"

[Kora] (switching computers, brb!)

[Fabienne Bartelle] *Something had told her it would be rude to bring a caterer. That didn't however, mean she couldn't bring catered food. Dressed in charcoal grey slacks and a long light tailored coat of the same color, the statuesque fang strides into the clearing. It had been a full hour of indecision as to whether she would present herself at this primitive cocktail party, but in the end politeness had won out, And so she found herself carrying a platter of expensive almond pastry, her shadow cast long and lean across the trees as she sets the food on one of the tables set up. An inclination of her head to Lukas, accompanied by a polite smile.*

[Colt Montgomery] ~he heard all the engines, he carried over some of the wood he'd gathered and put it over where the food would be cooked, then he joined in helping the kin unload the wood that had been driven in, that was a better way of doing things~

"Right on, after all this, we'll be ready to devour a bison"

[Roman Turner] "That's right, we came out here from just outside Clearwater. And nope, we ain't figured on a Pack yet."

He was quiet a moment as he bent to gather a limb.

"Ya say you and your packmate Cara came here? So you are a Pack of two?"

[Simon] He grins brightly with the arrival of Lukas. His attention going to Kora and then back at Lukas when he arrives. A gleam in his eye with the mention of a Truckload of wood."That's more like it!"He says with a brilliant gleam in his eye. He stands and begins headed towards the truck."Well if you need someone to wheel it in near the pit we can get it unloaded."He says with a grin towards Lukas.

[Colt Montgomery] ~he was still working on unloading the trucks with wood, Roman right beside him helping out, two good ole boys doing the brunt of the work, and not really caring about it~ "Ya, just the two of us right now, but we're hoping that there are others out there, who want to join, I know we've had some hero's fallen, and leaving packs with less and less garou, so we're hoping to even merge if it will help in the fight"

[Drew Roscoe] Moira had come over to stand near the cooking pits, setting up the goods she had brought and flitting through those already provided in a matter that seemed at least somewhat distracted. Drew was shifting her attention to and fro-- watching as people went to gather wood, as a(nother) tall man with dark hair came nearby and dropped a cooler down, proclaiming 'more meat' before suggesting some people go help 'the kin' with unloading 'the truck'.

Just because the Kin knew how to dress practically and cook meat well enough that it wasn't charred through but wasn't so underdone it would give you food poisoning, that didn't mean she was much use with other things outdoors. She didn't know the first step to starting a fire, could hardly navigate her way through the trees (were it not for the path cut into the ground from so much travel she'd get lost between her truck and the clearing). So she figured it best to stand back and let people who knew what they were doing... well, know what they were doing.

Instead she settled for nodding to Lukas, taking the cooler he'd thunked down, and hauling it over to the preparation table, lifting one end and dragging the other through dirt and grass to move it. As she did so, back bent and muscles in bare shoulders put into display, she turned her head to address the other Kin hovering nearby.

"So, Moira, how's life?"

[Roman Turner] He was more than happy to chuck wood next to Colt while processing what he'd said. If he and Cara were a Pack of two, the by the same reasoning, he and Sparrow could be considered a Pack of two. That made him chuckle and shake his head.

"Well now, I know there's folk looking to add to Packs and I reckon it's a matter of fitting together and what totem a body would be interested in."

[Colt Montgomery] "Yeah, not everyone fits in the same totem, some are more cunning, others built for war... what are you lookin to get into? I mean, tell me bout yerself" ~he didn't look that old, he thought Sparrow said he wasn't that far out of his rite of passage, and Helen had spoken of Roman as well~ "Heya seen Helen round?" `yep change of thought just like that, all the while still tossin wood, hoping the kin would get on cookin~

[Moira] Moira watched Drew out of the corner of her eyes as she began to fiddle around at the tables, the duffel bag set down on the edge of the seat, the zipper peeled back as she carefully took out the large, rectangle aluminum containers that were filled with food. She wasn't sure exactly what all they would eat, so it was a mixture of things that one usually sees at a cookout.

A dish of baked beans, another that had cobs of cooked sweet corn and a third with some dessert like treat, all homemade. Once the pans were set out, she leans against the preparation table, looking over at the small kin that dragged the cooler over. A thoughtful expression lighting up on Moira's face, "Life is good at the moment, I wouldn't ask for it to be any different right now."

A pause, rummaging through her bag for a box of kitchen matches, "Want to help me light up the cooking fires? I brought extra pans so we could store the meat in them, and chafing fuel to keep it warm. I'd be grateful if you helped me set it up."

[Roman Turner] "Ya know Helen?"

Just like that he was distracted. Pausing to brush his hands off on the set of his jeans as a big stupid grin crossed his face.

"She's mite pretty. Last time I saw her she was drunker than a skunk at a club with some guy. She was wearing this dress that was all skin tight and well she couldn't of been we...."

His brain finally caught up with his mouth and he just stopped himself from saying it was so tight he could tell if she did landscaping or not. Heat flooded his face.

"I mean, she couldn't of been wearing nothing prettier."

[Drew Roscoe] Drew straightened up after she got the cooler over next to the table where she wanted it to be, grabbed her beer from the table's corner where she'd left it, and took a few good long swigs before looking over to Moira, then down at the box of matches that she'd pulled free from her bag. Skepticism flashed briefly over Drew's face, like she couldn't believe that such a small flame on such a short stick could last long enough to start a real good fire. But that faded away quickly enough, she'd knew full well that her own knowledge in all things camping, woodsy, and survival was extremely limited.

So she took another swig for good measure, set the beer back down, and nodded.

"Good to hear, I'm glad for ya. ...Do I need to, like, get newspaper or something to stick in under the wood? Something that'll actually catch fire in the time that your match is burning? I didn't get out to go camping a lot when I was a kid-- lots of extracurriculars."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas is uncharacteristically alone this bonfire: no pack, no mate. For someone who lives in a single room, for someone who keeps so many cards so close to his chest, the Shadow Lord is, in fact, a pack animal. He likes having loved ones close on the important days of the year. The holidays. The rises and falls of the season. The turning of the wheel. It's strange for him to be alone on the longest day, and it leaves him quieter; the smiles he returns to those who greet him a little slighter.

"There are a few handtrucks," he says to those who've accompanied him back to the trucks where the Brotherhood kitchen staff are beginning to unload. "If we grab one each, we can shuttle the wood in while the kin unload. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

So speaking, he grabs pops the hatch on his own coupe. The rear seats are folded down to accommodate the dollies, which he hauls out one in each hand, passing them to Simon and Colt.

[Colt Montgomery] ~that got a grin going.... not as stupid or silly as the one on Roman's face.. but still, he couldn't help but chuckle.... boy did he know Helen, that girl was something, he'd liked to have a chance to catch up with her again, she seemed quite enthralled with him a time or two, okay well maybe not that serious, she was in love with the drink. He liked her well enough, but they hadn't spoken in weeks, she'd gotten really pissed at him, he wasn't quite sure why even to this day, didn't really matter though~ "I do, great gal, she was taken with my cowboy hat" ~he chuckled, still tossin wood~

"She's quite the looker, dig that edge she's got as well" ~he knew she was a good dresser, that was her business~ "So how's she doing?"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [sorry folks, got distracted ooc! and ... i lost track of who's where so if your char didn't go haul wood, ignore. *LOL*]

[Moira] She laughs, smiling at Drew, "The matches were actually for the chafing fuel. I know a little about camping, so I can show you how to make a fire. I agree with you I don't think the match alone will be enough. Usually, I have seen a starter log used to get a real fire going."

She looks around, crinkling up her nose, "I'm sure we can find something to use to get the fires going. Let's look?"

[Helen Moore] Believe it or not the woman actually owns a pair of jeans and she had purchased a pair of hiking boots just for this occasion, nothing great or grand but she had absolutely nothing suitable for going walking in the woods. A jacket she had with her in her bag, for when it got colder, but for now she was in a simple cotton three-quarter sleeve v-neck in a lovely shade of blue.

Navigation map on her phone has been her saviour, she made it out here and parked the car along with all the others and discovered a bunch of people unloading various trucks. She's got out of the nice Chevrolet Cruze, slung her bag over her shoulder and locked the car with the remote key she stows in her pocket.

Approaching the said folks, she calls out. "Is there anything I can help with?" Carrying bunches of wood, by the looks of her, probably isn't going to be something she could help with, but might be more of a hindrance. She's tall and skinny and would possibly break a wrist.

[Simon] He takes one of the dollies then wanders over to the Truck."The fun thing about unloading the wood is..."He pauses to think as he wheels the dolly over to the truck. He watches the others unload with a brilliant grin on his face but he doesn't seem to feel the need to continue what he was saying. After all there wasn't anything fun about it. This was work and he was here to get it done so they could enjoy their evening.

[Roman Turner] "Well, like I said."

He helped Colt while they spoke.

"She seemed a might, happy. And she was there with this fella that just was, well he was so nervous I expect he must be part long tailed cat and was afraid I brought the rocking chair, ya know?"

He greeted Lukas with a.

"Howdy."

And a nod.

[Fabienne Bartelle] *Almond pastries set out, Lukas wandering off to go ..do..something with wood... the silverfang's glass grey eyes slide over those gathered and tending fires. Little in the way of recognition. Acquaintances made once or twice likely at the failed kin coalition meeting she had attended. Food set out, and no one of great importance to associate with, Fabienne does what she does best. She takes her leave.*

[Kora] Fifteen minutes after she disappeared into the woods, Kora returns, dragging a pair of large limbs behind her -

- only to find nicely split and seasoned firewood now being carted back from the gravel-covered parking area and stacked in neat piles by the cook fires and the bonfire, courtesy of the kinfolk at the Brotherhood. The light is failing now, the sky is painted a dusk-colored blue and the woods in deep shadows. Without the light of the fires to brighten the space, they have no more than a handful of lanterns and flashlights to park the gloom.

And fireflies.

- it is dusk and the fireflies are coming out, gleaming sexual promises at each other in the darkness. There are so many in the clearing that you could read by the light shed by their wee thoraxes could you convince them to shine all together. They float up in a glowing cloud, or sink down in the blades of deeper grass. The sound of water is close, running somewhere, and with the sun sinking from the sky, the bullfrogs have started their virile song.

[Colt Montgomery] ~he nodded and tipped his cowboy hat to Lukas as well, chimin in with a Howdy as well, the two were busy runnin the wood to the bonfire area now, he'd worked up a thirst and was ready to toss one back with the rest of the garou, he looked around seeing Simon had joined in the fun with the dollies~

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas laughs under his breath, his dolly rattling along behind him as he heads toward the truck. "The fun thing about unloading wood is when you get to stop, is that it?"

He catches a pair of work gloves from Reuben, tossing another pair to Simon. Gloving up, then, he reaches to help the kin pile wood on their hand trucks. Helen pulls up, gets out; Lukas straightens up, swiping hair off his brow with a wipe of his wrist.

"Hm." He looks around. "See if someone brought lighter fluid to get the fire going?"

[Drew Roscoe] "Yeah. Uhh..."

Drew took a few moments to look around, left then right then back again, before she held up her finger in a clear 'wait a second' gesture and trotted away into the forest line. Some rummaging around on the ground just past the bushes was done, and she straightened up to rejoin Moira, this time with a fallen stick with plenty of dead leaves attached to it in her hand.

"Not paper, but it'll sure light right nice." There was a flash of that brilliant grin of hers, then Drew crouched down beside one of the fire pits loaded up with kindling and wedged the branch underneath it. As she did so, one hand held out for a match from the other Kin, she saw fit to make conversation.

"It's been real quiet lately, don't you think? I mean, all kinds of danger and action and people passing away... and now there's a lull." An ironic chuckle bubbled its way past her unpainted lips. "Hell, I haven't had to shoot anyone in over a month. ...But doesn't that put you on edge a little bit, too? It feels like the calm before a real big storm."

[Roman Turner] It was in the middle of Helen turning up and he'd seen Drew and Moira and was going in to overload. So he leaned in in the middle of moving wood to whisper to Colt.

"Do ya think they don't let Kin in to Chicago unless they are pretty as a diamond in the sun and so well bred that your jimmy about jumps right out your britches just being near them?"

[Simon] He was young and healthy and recently showered so fortunately there wasn't too much sweat taking shape just yet. Young and in the prime of his life, the Full moon seemed to love taking on whatever tasks his elders had to throw his way. He kept his pace quick, and moved the wood at a startling pace. Eagerness had already consumed him and seeing others around meant he had to step on things. Which is exactly what he did!

Several trips helped pile up the wood nicely and when Lukas asked for Lighter Fluid he grinned."Damn I was gonna send roman to get some Gas. Umm I can check with our cooks if you like."He says gesturing towards where the food had been started. He paused and smiled slightly when he noticed Moira was present, and then lifted a brow at the sight of Helen. The rich bitch from the parking lot! Well this was getting curiouser and curiouser.

Lighter fluid was among those things, though, that Simon rarely left the house without. Patting his shoulders and sides then locating his bag of tricks in the grass a short ways off he wandered over to snatch it up. Rummaging through the bag till he pulled out a can of lighter fluid. He stood and called out to Lukas."Wyrmbreaker catch!"He says tossing it in Lukas' direction and smiling brightly to see if the older man could respond in time.

[Colt Montgomery] ~Colt bust a gut laughing at what Roman said, but the kid had a point, all the kin were hotter than a summers dream~ "I think it might be a prerequisite or something, all the one's I've run into are mighty fine fillies." ~he gave a wave in Helen's direction and Moira as well, he hadn't seen her show up even~

"I think we're finally done, I say we rejoice with some brew"

[Helen Moore] Her mouth twitches in a slight smile, bemused, but she nods at Lukas and wanders off to to inquire just that. It was a good way for her to meet people, which is what she does as she introduces herself and drills various strangers about whether or not they have some fuel to get this bonfire started. Surely if they bought wood for a bonfire someone had it already organized.

Simon, it seems, had it under control, and with a small smile in their direction and a shrug of her shoulders she left it to the men to deal with their wood, and headed off to see who else was around. It's not as if she's met many, really.

[Colt Montgomery] "Evening ladies" ~he said to Helen, Moira and Drew as he grabbed a bottle of beer from the chest~

[Moira] "It has been quiet, like a lull in a passing storm. Reminds me of the summer months in Florida with the hurricanes. Weather is too damned unpredictable." This spoken after Drew returns from the forest line of trees, Moira offering her a wry grin and the box of matches as she moved after the smaller Fenrir kin to help light the fires.

She runs a hand over the back of her neck, glancing up to survey the area, tilting her head down to keep an eye on Drew to make sure she hadn't burned herself in trying to set fire to the wood. "How are you taking to the non-single life?"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas is dragging over the last dolly-ful of wood when Simon tosses lighter fluid at him. He pulls the can out of the air onehanded, fumbles it against his chest, gets a grip on it.

"Thanks," he says, ironic.

That last handtruckload of wood gets dumped on the bonfire, and then he's squirting lighter fluid on, circling the massive firepit and dumping ... pretty much the entire can in.

"All right." He looks toward Moira and Drew, matches hopefully at ready. "You guys want to do the honors?"

[Helen Moore] "Hello Colt," she greets him when he does her, having smiled at him after his wave. Sliding her bag from her shoulder and onto the ground, she crouched to unzip it, glancing up after to look back at him. "How have you been?" There had been bad blood between them, even if he didn't know why. Men were like that, they didn't understand women, at all. But she's polite to him anyway.

From her bag she fetches out some containers of various salads, pasta, rice and garden to set them down with the other foods not far from where she's came to stand, temporarily.

[Drew Roscoe] Drew chuckled a little bit at Moira's question, hitched one shoulder up in a shrug then dropped it again. She'd lit a match and caught the leaves on fire, then jammed the stick back under the flames, only to knock the alight leaf down and have it burn out in the old ash underneath. So, on the second try, with a little more care, she'd managed to get the dried leaves and branch smoldering under the rest of the kindling, and all with little more than a forgivable bit of burning to her fingertips, which she scrubbed against the hip of her shorts.

"Non-single life was fine, I was used to that. It's non-single life with a werewolf that's a bit off. I mean, don't see Joe for weeks, right? Always stuck wondering if he's even alive, but then he'll roll in all smiles and cheer and bruises and cuts and everything's right again." She licked her lips, straightened up, and grabbed her beer to finish it off. "I'm adjusting. It's well worth it, I think."

Then Colt had swung on by to offer some greetings, generally directed to all the fine young females nearby, and Drew just grinned, tipped the edge of her empty beer bottle to him, and then shifted her attention over to Lukas. Eyes jumped over to the large pile of kindling and crates, to Moira, then back to Lukas.

"Uh, sure? But you've gotta put me out if I catch fire too when that thing roars to life. Deal?" A deal, hopefully, since she was already sealing it with her million-watt grin.

[Kora] So: right, amidst the quiet little conversations and the stacking of wood and the people moving in and out of the clearing in the shadows and the sky above, all blue, that impossible color that only arises at twilight, the confluence of shadow and light - someone finds some lighter fluid, someone stacks some logs in artfully, someone shoves some twigs and leaves and pine needles and debris and -

- Kora helps with the rest, building the structure for the fire up with the wood carted out to the woods (oh, irony) from the city, then steps back, away from the pit as Lukas douses it in foul smelling accellerant. The night is warm and humid, and there's a certain species of mosquito that is only active at this time of night. One hopes that mosquitoes are as intimidated by rage as humans are. Here is the point: Kora brushes away mites from around the crown of her head and grabs her beer, quiet enough, standing back as Drew agrees to light the fire.

[Moira] "Light it up, Drew, We'll douse you with beer if we have to."

She calls after the smaller kin, her head lifting up to glance Lukas' way when he asked if they wanted to set the bonfires. She nods quietly to what Drew had said, seeming to understand what she was experiencing. She moves away to pick up a beer from one of the many coolers, taking it with her as she helps Drew out in lighting the res of the fires as darkness settled in!

[Colt Montgomery] ~with bottle in hand, he takes a long haul of the drink, raising his bottle in greeting back at Drew, it was hard not to hear the kin talking back and forth, no wonder he hadn't heard back from Joe, he was off running the state and killin shit, same place he wanted to be. Why the hell had he come in a pack to this city.

He went from ease droppin to offering to help Helen put her waves out for the group~ "Things are good, been workin hard, and just found a house, so the pack is finally not homeless" ~he shook his head a bit~ "How about you? How's life treatin ya, I haven't seen ya around much, guess work and all is so time consuming" ~he was making conversation, still totally unaware of why she had gotten so angry with him~

"I finally met Roman, good kid, just like ya said, he'd make a good packmate" ~his attention goes to the fire as it's about to be lit~

[Kora] "We'll douse her with icewater," Kora corrects Moira, her mouth curving into a generous little half-smile. "We aren't wasting good beer like that."

[Helen Moore] Salads and a few bottles of water later and her bag feels mostly empty by the time she's zipping it up. "I'm glad to hear that you've settled into a house." Raising up from her crouch, she ran both hands over her hair, pushing blond curls back from her face as she looked at Colt.

A small smile is offered. "Working, yes. But I'm well, thank you."

"I thought you might get along well with him. Was he just here before? I thought I saw him," she asks him of Roman. Speaking of which, she had thrown another glance to Lukas, sure that she met him, briefly, before. She had been highly intoxicated.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "We'll throw dirt on you too," Lukas puts in helpfully, picking up a bottle of beer himself and twisting the cap off.

He takes a seat next to Simon, then. "How are things with Dark Sky, Bone-Grinder?"

[Simon] He finds his eyes drifting towards the fenrir Kin. Both were taken, but that didn't mean there was anything wrong with looking! So from his vantage point in the back he pulled up a chair and settled in. It was time to light the fire and not a moment too soon. He had already been frothing at the mouth to get this thing started and now it was finally time. his eyes were ablaze with the passion of youth and rage. The fire was more than a source of warmth it was a symbol to him a symbol that meant quite a bit more than most could guess at. He was a soldier through and through and in everything he did he remembered those who had come before him and thought forward to those who would follow him.

That fire would stand as a symbol for them all. Though they were dead and gone the torch had been passed and it was still carried. Countless warriors whose souls had long since found peace in the pursuit of the war that was now the responsibility of those who still lived. Another year, another summer, another celebration of life. This was his life and his solemn vow. Young and impressionable and so very full of hope. A spirit that had not yet been broken, a spirit that still looked at his peers with respect, a spirit that would one day join those who came before him.

He opened a bottle of spiced rum and smiled as Drew readied herself."On the bright side if you die tonight your pyre is already here! Light it up already! Some of us have been waiting all week for this!"

[Colt Montgomery] "Ya, Roman was helpin with the wood, i think he needed to relieve himself" ~he cackled a bit and headed off to take a seat with Simon and Lukas, he hadn't seen Lukas since the moots, and they were speakin of Dark Sky, he knew that pack, he tipped the bottle back and drank, staring at the fire~

[Drew Roscoe] Drew snickered a bit at the back-and-forth over what would happen whether she was caught on fire or not. Beer? No, that's a waste of beer, water would be better. Dirt too. Mud from the combination would be more efficient overall. But if none of that worked she should look on the bright side and realize that this could be her pyre and she wouldn't have to wait to get all rotty and bloated before she got her proper send-off.

"Alright, then."

She scratched at the back of her neck, dipped her hand under her shirt to scratch between her shoulder blades as well, which caused her elbow to bend up closer to the back of her skull, then lit one of the matches Moira had provided and tossed it onto what she would consider nature's version of a timebomb, immediately backpedaling a few steps so her eyebrows wouldn't singe off.

There was a great noise, an initial 'whump!' as oxygen was sucked inward for fuel, consumed rapidly, then the roar as the flames soared upward and outward. Drew lifted a hand to tuck the brim of her cap downward, shielding her eyes from the heat, took a few more steps back, then let her face split into a big grin and whooped outloud in something close to victory but much closer to celebration.

[Helen Moore] Apparently their conversation is done and she watches Colt walk off.

The fire starts up in a sudden rush and she finds herself looking that way, watching the two women nearby. The men have gone to sit down, and she recognizes all three of them to varying degrees. Then there's Kora standing with a beer. She offers that Garou a smile, having met her briefly at another time.

She had expected more to be here.

[Simon] He grins back to Lukas."We're doing pretty good... Settling in and about to lay claim to a territory and begin asserting our claim from there. Every pack should have a stomping ground and a place they call home right?"He asks the man with a bright grin. When Colt moved to join them his eyes followed the man and he peeked up, Simon tilted his head and looked puzzled at the man.

He paused to look Helen over. Was she somehow broken? A defective kin? She looked healthy, and young still... Smooth skin,no visible blemishes. Nope she looked perfectly healthy so then what in the hell was wrong with Colt? He looked back at Colt and smiled."Ahem... Just gonna ignore the kin then? Something wrong with her?"He asks Colt suspiciously.

Before returning his eyes to Lukas."As far as the war effort goes I am looking into tracking down the Theurge Karl and I didn't manage to bring down a while back and there's still the matter of that missing Ahroun. As soon as I get another lead as to where he might be found I plan on personally overseeing the hunt for that one. Hunt hunt kill kill... Well not right now. Right now, drink drink..."He doesn't finish what he was going to say in front of his elder. After all his eyes were still on Helen and that could be seen as inappropriate!

[Moira] The fires were lit, Drew lets out a loud whooping yell of excitement, and Moira just shakes her head, watching as the different pyres became engulfed in flames. She walks around the perimeter of the fires, making her way back towards the tables with her beer in hand. She finds an empty space to sit on the bench, leaning her elbows on the table and watches in silence. A slight furrowing of her eyebrows as she counts the small number of people present.

She looks away, casting her eyes to the dark line of trees, watching the small twinkles of light that float across the field like flashing bulbs as fireflies flew about.

[Helen Moore] Sticking her hands into her jean pockets, she stands slightly off to the side with her bag by her feet. There's people talking about her but she can't hear them and is studiously ignoring the looks Simon is giving in her direction, so when Moira comes nearer to where she's standing she offers the other woman a smile.

Then, slipping her hands from her pocket had moved over to offer it to the other woman. "Hi, I'm Helen," says the British woman with an easy air.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The Shadow Lord's dark head tips back to watch the initial fireball whompf up into the clear night. A smile traces his mouth, faintly wistful; then it settles into something truer as Drew whoops. Across the fire, in whose light his eyes lose what blue there is and seem merely clear, his eyes catch hers for a moment. He grins.

"You know, I like the bonfires for every season," he calls across the fire, "but it's the ones at the solstices that seem most 'right' to me. There's something fitting about burning a fire all night after the longest day or through the longest night."

He turns to listen to Simon, then, nodding once in acknowledgment. "Since Hatchet's gone, I'll see about sending some more backup along. I asked my packmate Asha to accompany you guys." A pause. "She's a Fang. Will that be a problem?"

[Moira] Moira's head turns immediately when someone speaks to her. She looks over at Helen, glancing up and then down, lips peeling back into a friendly smile at the other kin. Head tilting, her gaze wanders past Helen to glance in the direction of Simon and Colt, quirking an eyebrow in Simon's direction.

"Pleasure to meet you, Helen, I'm Moira." She says, extending a free hand out in offer to her, the other holding a bottle of beer, "Is Simon bothering you? He seems to be staring at you quite a bit from over there."

[Drew Roscoe] Drew was settling back, one hand at her hip and the other resting on the top of her head, watching the fire stretch up toward the settling dusk of the sky, content just to do that for a moment. Lukas's eyes met hers, her grin flashed broad and true, and she answered his call across the fire by half-shouting back, just to be heard over the fresh generation of the sound of what could be considered nature's purest form of destruction. "Best time of year for brats too! I'm gonna go get on that!" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder to indicate the significantly smaller blaze of a cooking fire, then turned to approach it.

Eyes skimmed the trees as she walked, looking for a familiar big gray hoodie, or the gleam of fire off a more intimately familiar bald head. Neither was presented, her eyes hopped toward Kora instead, from her to Moira, from Moira to the pretty willowy blonde girl she was with, to the men congregating around the fire, then back forward.

She came to stop at the table with the food on it, fished herself another beer from the cooler, cracked it open for a drink, then set to getting the pans and spits set up over the flame so that she could get these bodies fed.

[Helen Moore] "Nice to meet you Moira." Her smile increased a little more, glad to find a more welcoming face. They shook hands casually, and Helen took a step back. She doesn't look over towards Simon for her to know who Moira is talking about. "It's not really a bother," there's a quiet chuckle under her breath as she adds, quietly, "I'm doing my best to ignore it."

[Colt Montgomery] "I don't know if there's anything wrong with her, I don't think she likes me none, but she was lookin over here at yall, so I was thinking she might be coming over to chat " ~he shrugged his shoulders and took another drink~ "Helen is actually quite a looker, and cook. Likes her drinks as well, but very active and health concious"~he sure knew a lot about her~

[Moira] Drew slides along in Moira's peripheral, catching the dark-haired kin's attention for a second as Moira turns to watch her approach the food table. She returns her attention to Helen when she speaks up as her hand fell back to her side., the beer bottle raised to Moira's mouth, taking a healthy swig of it to finish most of it off.

She sets it down, rising up from where she sat to climb off the bench, "Just let us know if it becomes a bother. I can always go ask Drew to rough him up for you. She's quite handy rifle." This spoken in jest as she grins, nodding towards the food table, "Have you met Drew yet?"

She was starting to get hungry and left an quiet invite for Helen to join her over at the food table where the smaller Fenrir kin had gone. "I'm going to get something to eat, welcome to join me."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas blinks -- it's a second before he catches Drew's meaning. Brats. Bratwurst. Not kids. Right.

A laugh, then, as Colt rattles off facts. "Listen," he says to the two of them, one reciting trivia and the other staring, "if you're interested, walk over and say hello."

[Helen Moore] Helen didn't need to be asked twice, she followed after Moira, becoming more relaxed as the seconds ticked by. This was the sort of people she was used to, open and easy to get along with. Moira was one of few that she had found this way since arriving and it was certainly refreshing. Chicago just wasn't the same as her Tribe back in the United Kingdom.

The comment about rifles had Helen laughing quietly and throwing a smile towards Drew. "No, I haven't," she answered Moira, but as they approached the other woman she had given her a small nod, eyes warm, "but maybe I should learn to use one myself." Knowing how to use a rifle could be handy, then again, it just might encourage bad behaviour.

[Kora] "Brats, Drew?" there's a certain lingering amusement in Kora's voice, as she appears behind the kinswoman's right shoulder, eyeing the grate set out over the fire. Her misunderstanding is deliberate, deliberately spoken. There's a flick of her dark eyes up and down Drew's small frame, almost entirely unconscious, and then Kora tips her beer toward Moira and Helen, "Cheers - Helen, right? I see you are getting all the introductions you need. I might," a glance over her shoulder, toward the woods. " - go see if something's eaten the kid."

[Drew Roscoe] "Learn to use what?"

Drew looked up from the particularly large hunk of meat she'd dragged out of the cooler Lukas brought by, the one she was working the spit rod through, and let her eyes hop from Moira to Helen. She smiled and it was like being greeted by a splash of sunshine through stormclouds that only parted for your front yard and nowhere else in town, nodded her head to the blonde-haired Kinfolk, and with a bit of a heft that had the slim, toned muscles in her arm pressing into relief as she did so, and moved to set it on the rest of the spit set-up she'd placed over the fire. "I'd shake your hand, but mine are gross. Nice to meet you, Helen."

Then, to Kora, who'd somehow manifested behind her (and Drew had to mentally pat herself on the back for not startling and jumping right out of her scuffed up hiking boots, thank you), another flash of that winning grin, this one quirked more strongly on one side of the mouth than the other: "Hell yes brats. Baste them in some beer and they're the best part of summer there is. Next to swimming pools, the smell of Russian Oak, laying out in the sun, sweet tea, and vacations, that is."

[Roman Turner] ((sorry y'all, having computer wars))
to Colt Montgomery, Drew Roscoe, Helen Moore, Kora, Lukas Wyrmbreaker, Moira, Simon, Victor Oseragighte

[Helen Moore] "Yes, that's right." Kora received a quick glance. "It's good to see you again, Kora." The last she saw the Garou was when she met Colt and the rude woman that she couldn't stand for longer then two seconds before fleeing the cafe table. There's a certain trend to that. She had chuckled at the mention of finding a kid, though she's not entirely sure who the Garou is referring to. Normally she'd remark about not getting lost or something of the like, but it just didn't fit when talking to Garou.

[Helen Moore] "That's alright," this was after Drew mentioned having gross hands, "it's nice to meet you too, Drew." Two women that she could definitely see herself getting along with in the future. Chicago was looking up, thanks to Moira's welcoming demeanor and Drew's shining smile. "And we were talking about rifles. Moira said you're quite the shot."

[Moira] Walking over to the food table, Moira stops to retrieve a second beer, leaving it unopen while she finishes off the first one and finds a bag to use for trash to toss it in. She chuckles under her breath, resting the new bottle on her hip as she looks over at Drew, and then flicks her gaze to Kora, nodding to her.

"Learn to use a rifle, though, that could be asking for trouble." She watches Drew work the spit, sort of in awe of the small kin as she manages to work the large hunk of meat onto the spit and setting it up to cook. Her head dips in a quick nod, listening to the conversation as her eyes move between the other women.

"Yes, Drew is quite the gunslinger, or so I have heard."

[Drew Roscoe] "Oh." The expression on Drew's face at the mention of being notorious about her shooting abilities was something unexpected. You'd suppose that there'd be pride there, confidence perhaps, but instead she looked a little bit sheepish.

"Heh. Yeah, it's... saved my skin quite a bit, actually. I don't go anywhere without at least my magnum. Keep a shotgun in the truck at all times too." Her expression shifted to something contemplative, and she took to hovering by the fire and turning the spit slowly. "Been thinking about springing for something better for long distance, but it's difficult to get licensed for things like that. Pricey as hell, too."

Her eyes flicked to Moira, and she snickered, just a bit. "Well, they call me Long Shot for a reason, I suppose. Hell, you were there Halloween night last year, in that dance club, remember? The big fucker and his little masterman? What a damn mess that was."

[Roman Turner] He wandered back out of the woods to the clearing where the fire and food was. Yeah, maybe he was off petting his monkey, or maybe he'd been seeing a man about a horse. God only knew what he'd been up to and likely she would blush in telling if God only deemed to speak to them.

[Helen Moore] She takes a back seat to it now, content to stand with the other women and listen to them talk. Her gaze drifts from one to the other and occasionally across the gathered. She doesn't have anything to contribute yet, but takes in the beginnings of a tale with an arched eyebrow and curiousity.

[Victor Oseragighte] He needed to be free for a time. Sometimes you just had to get away from the city. He could not know he would find kindred spirits here, even ones he knew. He was drawn initially by the smell of cooking meat, and then voices. Familiar voices, some of them. He did not foresee that either.

[Simon] He laughs a little when he hears Colt's appraisal of the woman."You sound like a fuckin' infomercial man. Are you trying to sell her? Cause it sounds to me, looks to me as if you might have actually wanted to bump into her and if that's the case then maybe you should walk your ass over there and chat her up. If she's mad at you for something... Open the conversation by apologizing."He grins to Lukas and nods then looks back to Colt."Go on man I will live without your powerful arms wrapped around me to keep me warm for one night."He winks to Cole before lifting the bottle of rum to his lips and tipping it back. His eyes pop open and he hisses as he tries to catch his breath before standing and heading over towards the food.

"So where the fuck is everyone?"He asks Lukas."And why is it everyone who is here who has a mate is here without their mate?"He asks with a bit of a grin forming on his face. That was an odd thing to see especially considering how possessive Garou could be. Possessive on one side and predatory on the other.

[Roman Turner] "So..."

He cleared his throat, once more glad for the dark.

"Might pretty night Miss Helen."

He spoke up from the side as he stepped up next to Helen.

"What happened to that pretty dress from the other night and your hat wearing fella?"

[Moira] She groans inwardly, closing her eyes, raising her left hand to bring fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose, remembering that night all to well. "Dear God, don't remind me of it..." She sighs, dropping her hand to rest on her shoulder, tapping the fingers of her other hand on the beer bottle perched on a denim-clad hip.

"I took lessons with John for a few month over Christmas after that happened. He and Joss were rather insistent that I learned. I nearly dropped the damn pistol at the firing range a few times, hate them so much. I haven not had to use mine yet."

She clears her throat, "Let's hope there isn't a repeat of something like that this year..." She doesn't mention how they would not have Lonna with them to worry over as well. She falls silent, her eyes drifting away as she glances over at Roman as he came over to speak to Helen. Moira takes a step back, the corners of her mouth peeling back in a wide smirk.

[Helen Moore] There's a small knot in her stomach, not quite a jolt as Roman came up nearby. That passes easily and she glances towards him with a smile, and maybe just a faint flush - she's glad for the dark, too. "Hey Roman," he's easy to greet, familiar, "Colt said you were running around here somewhere."

"Trance? I suppose he's somewhere in the city. I really don't think this is his sort of thing." She knew he was a Glass Walker, and could be wrong, but... well, this wasn't her sort of environment either. Helen just liked gatherings, parties, and the like. "And what's wrong with jeans?" No dresses tonight.

[Roman Turner] "I liked the dress, it fit mighty nice. I mean, it was pretty and hugged your as...as I was saying."

He rushed on.

"It's a mighty nice night, don't ya just think?"

[Drew Roscoe] "You know I'd be more than happy to help teach too. I go to the range at least once a week to keep sharp."

She kept the spit spinning for some time, until the meat was leaking fat into the fire that sizzled when it hit the flames and embers. She'd glance over to Roman when he reappeared, smile and wave a little, then check the cellphone she had tucked into her shorts pocket, perhaps looking for the time or a text message that she had received.

Either way, the girl wiped her hands on a napkin, took her beer, and held it in the air in kind of a farewell.

"I'm headin' back to the truck for a little bit. Someone text me if Joe rears his ugly head, huh?"

With goodbyes and clarifications out of the way, she'd take one of the almond pastries that the woman with super short blonde hair, the one that vanished as immediately as she had appeared, had left, then head back out of the clearing toward the parking lot, taking care to make sure everyone got a wave, even the gentlemen hovering around the campfire, even if her socialization with them had been more limited.

[Colt Montgomery] ~he saw Roman heading back to camphe grinned and finished the beer, the fire was hot, he was wondering how the food was coming along, his belly growling, he nudged Simon as he headed over to where the kin were~ "Howdy Fate, ya take care of that" ~he could tell the kid was taken with Helen, listening to their conversation, he waved at Drew as she headed off, he hoped Joe showed up too

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] There's a flash of a grimace across the Ahroun's face. He shifts his seat, one large hand coming up to paw over his mouth. A moment later his brow clears.

"I can't speak for everyone else," he says, "but Dani&+269;ka is in New York." He stands as well, dusting the seat of his jeans off as he heads for the food himself.

[Victor Oseragighte] Despite recognizing voices, he does not immediately come out into the open, treading in his wolf self, giving himself over for a time to the half he discovered only after the first change. He does not know, after all, if he is welcome here. A bark of introduction is sounded, to see if he should venture forth.

[Helen Moore] "I think I feel the same way about them as you do, Moira." She wasn't big on guns either, it seemed.

Roman had her laughing quietly, and she shook her head with a grin spread across her lips. He was young and for some reason the way he said it sounded very different to say some forty year old lech at a nightclub might say it. It had to do with that Southern charm, she suspects. "It is a nice night. A little warm, though."

Drew got a small wave of goodbye, and Helen debated whether or not she'd actually take up the offer. Time would tell, she could muse over it for awhile.

[Moira] Moira lifts a hand to wave at Drew, finally lifting up the bottle to open it. "I'll keep an eye on the food."

The Fenrir kin steps back and away, fading into the background as Helen is distracted by Roman. She makes her way over to the food table again, hunting around for a plate and begins to pile it up with food from the dishes that were brought. Once filled, she finds a vacant chair, pulling it off to the side to watch the fire and sits down to eat.

[Roman Turner] He touched the brim of his hat with a nod to Drew as she wandered off. Not entirely sure which woman to look at first, though far as he knew, Helen here was the only unattached, not likely to get him killed, female there. So like a moth to the flame, he was going to stick around for a little bit just so he could see her assets close up.

Colt came over and spoke and got a big ole grin.

"Oh, everything came out just fine and dandy. I was just complimenting Miss Helen here on the dress she wore the other night. I ain't quite seen nothing like it 'cept on cable."

[Asha Singh] There's an answering bark, out in the darkness. The sharp scent of a female wolf, someone at the edges of the gathering. Lukas can feel his packmate, out there, just outside the ring of fire, the way her feral mind backgrounds their totemic connection that suggests, too, the form she's in. The connection is sharpened by their proximity.

[Simon] He nods at Lukas and his smile grows."Nice girl, make sure to tell me when she's back in town."He says with a nod of his head. He grabs hold of a plate and begins assembling his food."So how has your pack been?"He then adds curiously to Lukas, associating with his elder. It's not a crime is it?

When Moira joins them his smile brightens just a little, it was twisted by the slightest hint of mischief. His eyes flicker over her as he begins assembling his plate."Moira, your night is treating you well I trust?"He asks her in a pleasant enough tone. At least he was being civil that was certainly a good start!

[Asha Singh] Got you a rodent. - is Asha's greeting. - and someone doofus is out here barking like he wants to come in. Maybe you should bark back? Hopeful thought. Asha would like to see the ever-compased Lukas bark in humanskin.
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Victor Oseragighte] He ventures forward now, tentative, scenting the air as he does, ears pricked and alert, a stocky but fairly average example of the North American timber wolf, from his gray coat to his orange eyes.

[Colt Montgomery] ~Colt stood right next to Roman, two cowboys and one good lookin Fianna kin, this could be a cable show in itself, though Helen knew him better than that, he really wanted to know why she was so pissy with him the other night, he totally missed it~ "Yes, Miss Moore makes any outfit look good, no problem... in fact... I think if she traded in those hiking boots for some cowboy boots, and I offered her my hat.. she's be all cowgirl" ~he had missed seeing the woman in her sexy dress, but he was able to see it through Roman's explanation~

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "I will," Lukas says, and, "We've been well, thank you."

No more detail there, either -- Moira passes, plate piled with food; Simon greets her, and Lukas's pale eyes flick her way as well. He's busy heating his own plate. Mostly meat. Potatoes, too. Some green beans. Not much in the way of leafy-greens.

His eyes go distant for a moment; there's a private little smile at the edges of his mouth. He laughs under his breath, and then rather abruptly turns from the food tables to shout into the night:

"There's food, fire and company here! You're welcome to join!"

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas, ever the partypooper: How's that for barking?
to Asha Singh

[Roman Turner] "No, no, she has to have Daisy Dukes with the boots and hat. Ain't the same with jeans wouldn't ya agree Colt?"

If he kept this up he was going to need another walk. Though he had the biggest shit eating smile on his face.

[Helen Moore] "Okay boys," she holds up her hand a little as if to ward them off as they both gang up on her, but she's smiling, "let's talk less about my dresses, shall we? You both look like vultures right now, and neither of you have offered me a drink." If they were going to talk about her assets like she was some girl on cable, then she would take somewhat advantage of that, or at least call them out on being asses.

[Moira] Moira can feel the wandering eyes of the Shadow Lord easily enough, a dark brow crooking up in his direction as he pretends to play civil with her. She scoots her chair off to the side so she could see Simon better while he talked to her. The flick of his gaze would take in the casual attire the woman wore, denim shorts with flat-soled boots and a camisole. She had brought a hoodie with her that was wrapped around her waist in case she took on a chill.

The faint lines of blue henna painted woad markings stain bare skin, running in patterns of twisted lines and spirals, celtic knotwork along her shoulders, back and upper arms, disappearing under her clothing.

She balances the plate of food easily on her lap, after crossing one knee over the other. The beer nestled somewhere. "My night is good so far, Simon, how about yours? Dateless as usual I gather... then again, your boyfriend isn't here either." She waggles her eyebrows at him, "I'm not sure if Karl is going to make it or not."

[Asha Singh] BOO.
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Colt Montgomery] ~he chuckled, his own grin had gone lopsided~ "well ya should meet Cara.. she's always wearing daisy dukes and boots..." ~Helen was right, she stood there without a drink, that would need to be remedied, he knew she liked wine, she wasn't much of a beer drinker~ "I can fetch ya some vino" ~he reluctantly headed off to find a bottle of wine, one that she probably had brought, he'd return a short time later and offer it up to her, having given Helen and Fate a lil time to continue the flirting or whatever, he was all smiles once again~

[Marni] Yeah, like there was any doubt that the perpetually hungry gnawer would miss out on free food... There's no telling how long she's been here, or when she really arrived, unless someone hears the grumbling of her belly as she appears near the food table, and goes about piling a plate high.

She's eating for two, after all.

Only once she's managed to snag enough to keep her briefly satiated, only then does she actually look up and search out who's here, and who she might want to actually speak too. That's when she realizes Lukas is at the table. A little grin, a slight shrug, and she finishes making her plate.

[Victor Oseragighte] The wolf emerges from shadows into the firelight, changing as he does so. He looks a bit off tonight, his clothes clearly not his own; a pair of green cargo shorts a bit too tight on him, a gray t-shirt entirely too long for his stocky frame. It is evident to anybody there that he is wearing borrowed clothes, and there are any number of reasons why a Garou would be doing so.

[Asha Singh] Victor approaches wearing his wolf skin. Asha does not.

Instead, somewhere in the shadow of the woods, away from the heat of and light of the bonfire: wolf becomes wolf-girl. For anyone close to the edges of the of clearing: a sensation of mass, and of then, air displaced. Asha is dark skinned and dark eyed and black-haired, all in sharp contrast both to the fur she wears in her feral form (gleaming, white) and the crisp white blouse she wears tonight over skinny black jeans and strappy little sandal better suited to kicking off underneath your table at the club before dancing than to walking into a clear with a bonfire and animal-men and animal-women whistling a tonal song under your breath and carrying someting

- dead.

By its tail.

[Asha Singh] You want it cooked? pause, or are you eating it raw?
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Ever-unruffled: I couldn't bear to eat such a wondrous gift as a rodent. I'm going to have it stuffed and put on display in the middle of Kate's loft. She won't mind, right?
to Asha Singh

[Roman Turner] "There ya go, ole Colt is gonna get ya a drink and I won't compare dresses with ya or nothing. Though correct me if I'm wrong about this."

He leaned closer to Helen just so he could smell her while whispering.

"Ain't Cara his Packmate which makes her True?"

There was no way on earth he was going to drool over forbidden fruit because his grand pappy would rise from the grave and kick his ass up between his shoulder blades.

Suddenly Victor came out of the woods, then a woman he didn't recall who was dragging something dead along.

"Well dang, I should'a brought something dead. I saw a possum about a half mile down the road that looked like it weren't dead so long."

[Helen Moore] It was amusing that the shorter Roman had to lean up to whisper to the taller woman. She was five foot ten in flat shoes. At least he had a few more years left of growth spurts.

She smelled like perfume, clinging to clean clothes that has never seen this sort of wilderness since it came off the production line, and somewhere underneath it like warm, scented, pure bred female. Her brows raised at the question which had her shoulders lifting in a subtle shrug.

"I don't know. I've never met her."

[Helen Moore] Helen didn't bring wine but water. But whatever was offered, beer, water or wine, had been taken from Colt with a small smile. "Thank you." She could have gotten it herself, but since they were ogling, it served them right. Taking a sip from it, she let her gaze drift over to Victor and Asha as Roman mentions dead possums, killing any sort of appetite that she may have had. She wisely stops from commenting.

[Colt Montgomery] ~Colt offered Helen a water bottle and a beer after all, he hadn't found wine, he was still quite the gentleman, he'd missed the whole conversation the two had, he did think it was quite odd, the much smaller boy whispering up to her, but none the less, he took his place once more, He was damned near a foot taller than Roman, from behind, he could be mistaken for Colt's son, jeans, cowboy hats~ "Here ya go darlin, two for the price of one, I know ya don't care much for beer, but thought ya might make an exception, no fun drinkin alone, least for me"

[Victor Oseragighte] His mouth quirked into a smile at Roman's comment, thinking that he himself was half dead earlier, so that probably counts. He is still a bit tentative about moving fully into the circle, not certain he belongs there quite yet. The aroma of cooking meat, though, is intoxicating, and settles his mind, drawing him further to nod silently to those present. With such smells in the air, one would have to be very close to him to pick up the distinctive coppery odor of blood.

[Asha Singh] I'll get another one for your to have stuffed. Or really, you could eat the INSIDES Asha suggests, gleaming. He can see that now, even from a distance, the way her black eyes gleam as she cuts him a look across the clearing. snce you only ned the OUTSIDES for stuffing.
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Roman Turner] Helen's response wasn't anything he could play off of so she got a...

"Me either."

And then a cricket chirping moment arrived as he stood there trying to think of something else to say.

[Colt Montgomery] ~Colt offered Helen a water bottle and a beer after all, he hadn't found wine, he was still quite the gentleman, he'd missed the whole conversation the two had, he did think it was quite odd, the much smaller boy whispering up to her, but none the less, he took his place once more, He was damned near a foot taller than Roman, from behind, he could be mistaken for Colt's son, jeans, cowboy hats~ "Here ya go darlin, two for the price of one, I know ya don't care much for beer, but thought ya might make an exception, no fun drinkin alone, least for me"

[Helen Moore] Laughing softly, she took the beer as well as the water bottle. "I can agree with that. Nobody likes drinking alone." Even though she enjoyed a bottle of wine herself over a weekend period, drinking and working from home. It's a sad state of affairs when a Fianna kin is resorted to that. She'd made up for it during the week. Boy had she.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] You can tell which werewolves have totemic links to their packmates easily enough. They're the ones that tend to occasionally space out. They're the ones that get strange expressions on their faces for no good reason at all. Right now, Lukas is one of them: bemusement chases disgust across his face, and then -- right as he's about to haul a huge cut of steak directly to his mouth with his fingers -- he bursts into laughter.

"Marni," he says suddenly, "I've got a question for you. If you had a choice between ribeye steak and a rodent from the woods, which would you pick?"

[Simon] He grins back at her."Dateless but never lonely..."He adds back to Moira as he leans in."My boyfriend? You are speaking of your mate? I am sorry to hear if you suspect I've turned his eye, but then again I could certainly understand what he saw in me. Strength, courage, a charming smile... And if you ask me I'm damn good in bed."He winks back at her."So I mean if I have accidentally managed to steal your mate away I do apologize but I can't be held responsible for actions that were not even my doing can I?"He asks her curiously."Besides I am afraid I would have to break his poor heart if in fact I had drawn his attention for I have eyes only for my work... And the occasional dalliance on the side."He grins back at her and looks down realizing he has filled his plate completely.

[Marni] She blinks as Lukas speaks, and takes a moment to look around, as she finishes chewing the bit of meat she'd been in the process of shoving into her maw as fast as she could chew. A thick swallow, and she wrinkles her nose.

"Well, that ain't somethin ya can answer straight up. How's the steak cooked, how old is it, and so on. Then, there's the rodent. I ain't any too happy to eat Rats, that's like bitin off my own foot, ya know? So depends on the rodent. And MOST of all, it depends on how fuckin' hungry I am at the moment. Right now? I'm all for steak, but I sure as hell wouldn't look any gift food in the mouth... not as hungry as I been lately."

"that answer ya question?" She knows it doesn't really - but just grins and takes another bite.

[Colt Montgomery] "Cheers to the Summer Solstice" ~he saw Marni appear, and gave her a wave!

[Moira] Moira listens to Simon, taking in bites of food from her plate and a swallow of beer to help it go down better. She crooks an eyebrow at him, listening with feigned interest, the corners of her mouth curling back into a brief smile.

"You are so full of shit, Simon." She laughs then, shaking her head at him, "Dateless you are likely to always be with that kind of talk, but then again, as you say. You are like a man married to only his work, blood and carnage are your meat and potatoes, so therefore, it becomes your lover as well."

She shrugs, "I am not worried about you breaking Karl's heart. I just say that with how well you two seem to get along, bosom buddies and the sort."

[Marni] She grins as Colt waves at her, and winks at him in return - calling out a "Hey cowboy!" between bites. She really is huuuungry.

[Victor Oseragighte] His eyes slide sideways at the mention of a particular name, and he speaks it aloud. "Marni." He studied her, having not really had a chance to speak with her despite being told about the Bone Gnawer by both Karl and Mama. He gravitates slowly toward the offered food, pausing to look at Lukas, silently asking to speak with his stance.

[Mama Ankle-Biter] "Bad Shadow Lord, no Scooby-Snacks for Mr. Wyrmbreaker. Rats are not a delicacy." the slow lazy drawl of the small bleach blond Gnawer appears behind the tall Ahroun, her head canting to the side as she fixes a wide blue-eyed gaze up at him. Bleach blond curls bounce along shoulders and frame her cherub face in a frizzy halo.

All 5'3 of Mama Ankle-Biter seems to magically appear, or not really, she just pops into existence from the other side, swinging a longing gaze at the food table. She wets her mouth with her licks, like wolf licking its chops and the lupus-born immediately takes up a plate, piling it on with various cuts of meat (and meat only) that becomes too heavy for the plate to hold. She starts to slurp the cuts of meat down, swallowing more than chewing, eating with a voracious appetite for such a small thing that might put a black hole to shame.

[Roman Turner] "Well, I'm gonna head back to town."

He lifted his voice and with a wave to the gathering called.

"Y'all have a great night and thanks for the hospitality!"

[Asha Singh] "Hey!" - Colt and Roman and Helen are interrupted briefly by a diminutive wolf-girl interested in drinking something other than water. This is Asha: her clothing cost more than the downpayment on a new car, less than the downpayment on a new house. Her black har was styled sometime in recent memory, and well, by skilled hands, though the effect has been undermined by her decision to play Great White Hunter in Tekakwithwa Woods, and now the mane of her black hair is WINDBLOWN rather than [i]windblown[i].

And she is carrying something dead by its tail. It's not an oppossum, all gleaming white and hairless tail. It's not a rat, and it's not a squirrel. It is something small, darkfurred. " - where'd you get the beer?" She lingers by the trio just long enough to get directions to the motherlode of alcohol, then vamooses, skedaddles. Finds: the cooler of beer, opens it, and pulls out three between the fingers of her right hand. It's like a beer commercial. Or would be, were she five inches taller, two years older, and wearing 90% less clothing than she is now.

So: not so much like a beer commercial.

[Asha Singh] Did you bring a blender?
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Asha Singh] Asks Asha, innocently holding three beers in one hand.
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Colt Montgomery] ~he looked from Marni to Roman~ "You take care Fate... We'll be in touch, tell sparrow howdy" ~his attention back to Helen~ "So ya think ya can do me a favor... maybe let me in on why you were so disappointed in me" ~he was rather curious~ "I'd like to appoligize for my actions"

[Helen Moore] "You know, Colt, that was awhile ago now. I'd rather not get back into it," she says, looking to him directly. Asha had been given directions to the cooler when she came over and asked, which wasn't too far from where they were standing as it were. But now she looks back to Colt again, beer mostly untouched in her hand. "But thank you anyway. You don't need to apologize." Especially for something he doesn't know he did wrong.

[Simon] He can't help but grin back as she speaks. His eyes wander down to the pile of meat and the potatoes on his plate before drifting back to her."If you are suggesting that I make love to my plate I must reluctantly decline. As enticing and exciting a show as that might be I am not about to embarrass Lukas with such inappropriate behavior!"He was being playful, those eyes still glimmering as the firelight reflects off them. He settles the bottle of rum on the table and settles into his seat.

"You're right though... Karl and I do work together well. It's cause we see things similarly, I don't see too much in the way of man on man action as a result."He grabs a potato from his plate and takes a bite from it."At the very least you can trust that as long as there is breath left in me I will make sure your man gets home to you every night. Well unless he does something stupid. In which case his ass can die in a fire I'm not gettin' my ass killed for an idiot."He says before taking another bite from his potato. This shit is awesome!

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "You know, I concur completely," Lukas says to the pair of Gnawers, pops a potato wedge in his mouth, and heads over toward Asha.

"I'll have you know," he says as he closes the distance, "I've just consulted with Marni and Mama Anklebiter, who as Bone Gnawers should be considered the resident authority on unusual gastronomy. They informed me that this steak," he points at the thick slab of medium-rare goodness on his plate, "is preferable to rodent meat. However, Marni reminds me that what's wasted in summer might be wanted in winter.

"So," with the air of a professor of philosophy coming to some grand conclusion, "I think we should eat it."

He shifts his plate to his left hand, reaching out the grasp the thing by the tail with the other, lifting it into the firelight. "As the ranking Garou here, I suppose the first of the kill goes to me. But as a mighty, shining Silver Fang, surely the second of the kill goes to you, Asha.

"What do you say? Shall we split it?" A glance around, all innocence. "Unless you fine wolves and kin care to share our kill."

[Moira] "I would think the wily mind of a No Moon would not need an ahroun of your ..." a pause, grasping for words, she plucks up a piece of meat tossing it in her mouth and chews before continuing, "Capabilities, Simon, would need to pull Karl's ass out of the fire. He isn't stupid, and I know he is smarter than he might appear."

She shakes her head as Simon makes references to making love to his plate, it makes Moira laugh aloud. "I was not referring to the food on your plate, you silly man. I meant what you do, the killing - fighting. You are rather bloodthirsty for a Shadow Lord. But not nearly as bad as a Fenrir."

[Mama Ankle-Biter] "Ya should dig'a hole in ya backyard, Wyrmbreaker, and give the poor thing a proper burial! Its too big to flush down the toilets at that bro'hood. Mama done tried already."

Chuckling, the little Gnawer finds a spot on the ground, shifting slightly as she goes back to devouring the meat on the plate. A greasy-fingered wave wiggle at Victor in passing when she catches his eyes.

[Marni] Marni grins at Mama, and then follows her Alpha when she moves to a quiet place to continue eating, flopping down on the ground beside her to attack her own meal.

[Victor Oseragighte] Mama Ankle-Biter herself arrives then, and he waivers a moment before he heads fir her instead, walking up with his carefully measured gait and leaning down to whisper. The wave prompts a small smile beforehe murmurs, "should I mention what happened? Seems... festive." That thick aroma of meat was getting to him, making his stomach rumble again already, the strain of healing earlier still on him a little.

[Mama Ankle-Biter] Mama smiles up at Victor warmly, tilting her head all the way to look up at him. She shakes her head, causing a few curls to fall into her eyes. "Go and get'cha something to eat first, baby. Ya look famished and ya stomach's gone eat itself right up. There's plenty of meat to spare, come back and sit with Marni and me, we can discuss what'cha did then."

She makes a gentle shooing sound, pointing over at the table. A side-glance to Marni, leaning over to sniff at her plate, she raises an eyebrow and then looks down at her own, and shrugs. She shifts in the dirt until she could lean up against the other Gnawer.

[Simon] He grins back at Moira."Well I should hope not, I think a little more highly of Karl than that."He says as he settles back in his chair."You haven't really seen me in action yet. Give it time, I'll make sure to live up to your approval one of these days."He winks and then turns his attention towards the others gathered around them.

"Doesn't really matter what we do or think or say... Sooner or later we all come home in Body Bags."He says with a smile on his face."I'm Betting Karl will avoid that fate a bit longer than many Fenrir. I just wanted to reassure you that your mate had someone watching his back."

[Asha Singh] "The head is the best part," Asha refuses to be non-plussed when Lukas offers/threatens to share her kill. Instead, she flashes him this wide, potentially terrifying smile, smile up at him, all white teeth and black eyes, and flops the corpse into his hand. " - because of the brains?" eyeing him, passingly, just to make she he understands that he brains are a delicacy he should absolutely have the honor of enjoying as the first among the Garou assembled.

"So you should have that. Are we gonna have it raw? Or like, are you gonna have to cook it?" The corpse is still warm, and flops obligingly as Asha holds it out to her Alpha. "Hey - did you ever read that book where a bunch of kids eat worms every day for like a bazillion days on a bet?"

Then, frowning down at her right hand, with the three beers clasped between her fingers, Asha holds them up and out, offering them to Lukas obligingly. "You want a beer? I can get another if you do."

[Moira] Moira chews thoughtfully on her food as she listens, squinting at Simon with something he says. She swallows, taking a sip of her beer to wash the aftertaste of cooked meat down. She runs her tongue over her teeth, and along the inside of her left cheek.

"You are correct, Simon, I have not seen you in action. I do not get to see many werewolves in battle as I do not tend to get stuck in the middle of them." She snorts softly at his comment on body bags, "As long as Karl comes home to me alive in some fashion, I am perfectly capable of putting him back together no matter how severe the wounds."

Her chest rises and falls slowly, shifting in the chair to get more comfortable, "Why would you want to live up to my approval?"

[Victor Oseragighte] He offers a grateful smile before he slips past her and over to the meat supply. Rather than go for something cooked, he selects a slab yet to experience the caress of the flame, good and fresh and bloody, and carries it back with him to drop down beside Mama Ankle-Biter and Marni and tear in as if he were starving.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "I have never," Lukas intones, "read that book."

He studies the carcass, then. Maybe he's trying to make sure it really is fresh. Rather than, say, roadkill.

"I'll take the brains. But the guts are pretty awesome too. So you should have that." Beat. "All of them. And the kidneys too. I call dibs on the liver though. We can split the heart, because I'm generous like that."

Another.

"Or we can do as Mama suggests and give this fellow a proper burial. He can be our sacrifice to the season."

[Marni] Dark eyes flick toward Moira and Simon, tipping her head slightly. She doesn't interrupt though, intent on her meal. She shifts her weight slightly so that she's leaning against Mama too, comfortably huddled together in mutual support.

She grins up at Victor when he joins them, and simply keeps eating - while she turns her gaze back toward Lukas and Asha and their kill/sacrifice.

[Karl Holds the Line] There is no rustle of brushes to betray the Rotagar. No crackling of leaves underfoot. One moment, the forest seems empty, all wildlife long since having fled the area flooding with rage. And then the Norse Fenrir is stepping out of the treeline, stopping to glance around and to the fires before starting forward with a slow roll of his shoulders.

[Simon] He shrugs his shoulders."Not really a goal of mine personally or anything, I'm just figuring sooner or later you'll have no choice is all."He says with a nod. He reaches down to lift his meat to his lips and take a bite watching Lukas still as well as the others. He was curious as to how he would handle all this.

[Mama Ankle-Biter] The presence of pack brings a comforting feeling to Mama Ankle-Biter. It calms the constant flutter of her thoughts which beats rapidly like the wings of a hummingbird. Aspects of the totem's characteristics seems to affect each member under its banner differently - with Marni: it's hunger. Karl - his movement, and Ankle-Biter: the way she processes thought. The small woman snorts out a breath air, lifting an eyebrow up at Victor as he rejoins them. She grins, twitching her nose at the scent of raw meat. Her stomach growling, despite the pile of devoured cooked meat she just inhaled.

"So, what happen with that pretty boy ya fished out of the fountain earlier?" this to Victor.

[Asha Singh] "Me either," Asha replies, amicably, as she opens one of the three beers she has claimed as her own, still holding the other two, concerned though perhaps not convinced thatsomeone might come along and take them away. "My cousin Naima did, though. She tried to gross me out about it when we were eight. So I got cook to make samosas and I stuffed her samosa full fo worms instead of potato."

Asha pauses, studying her kill with a critical eye, taking an overlong draught of her beer, tipping her dark head back, black hair swinging. "Since you'e sharing," she says, "I've got dibs on the eyeball."

The carcass is fresh. He can see her the marks of her teeth in the unfortunate little creature's neck. " - though if you want to give him to summer, I'm good with that."

[Moira] Moira frowns at the Shadow Lord as he starts to confuse her. She wasn't drunk yet and the beer hadn't made her thoughts fuzzy enough to not think clearly. She finishes her plate of food and the beer, starting to stand up.

"You didn't answer my question, Simon, and what do you mean I will have no choice. No choice for what?"

[Victor Oseragighte] "Before or after," he asked after swallowing a mouthful of his meal, large enough that his cheeks had bulged. He wipes away a bit of blood from his lips before speaking again. "We were sitting. Talking. Then suddenly Adrian's in the fountain drowning at the end of the man's hand and I am being bowled over by the other one. All got a bit.... red for a while after that," he admitted softly.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "That, Asha, is completely disgusting." Lukas thinks for a moment. "When I was about six I made my future mate fall out of an oak tree. That's about the best I've got."

Then, taking a last bite of steak, he bends down to set his plate aside.

"Summer can have something else," he says, his eyes gleaming, his grin gleaming -- and then stretching wide and toothy as he starts to shapeshift. "Let's eat it."

A pair of Ahrouns, a Silver Fang and a Shadow Lord, playing at brinksmanship: the outcome was nearly inevitable.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "I have never," Lukas intones, "read that book."

He studies the carcass, then. Maybe he's trying to make sure it really is fresh. Rather than, say, roadkill.

"I'll take the brains. But the guts are pretty awesome too. So you should have that." Beat. "All of them. And the kidneys too. I call dibs on the liver though. We can split the heart, because I'm generous like that."

Another.

"Or we can do as Mama suggests and give this fellow a proper burial. He can be our sacrifice to the season."

[Marni] Dark eyes flick toward Moira and Simon, tipping her head slightly. She doesn't interrupt though, intent on her meal. She shifts her weight slightly so that she's leaning against Mama too, comfortably huddled together in mutual support.

She grins up at Victor when he joins them, and simply keeps eating - while she turns her gaze back toward Lukas and Asha and their kill/sacrifice.

[Karl Holds the Line] There is no rustle of brushes to betray the Rotagar. No crackling of leaves underfoot. One moment, the forest seems empty, all wildlife long since having fled the area flooding with rage. And then the Norse Fenrir is stepping out of the treeline, stopping to glance around and to the fires before starting forward with a slow roll of his shoulders.

[Simon] He shrugs his shoulders."Not really a goal of mine personally or anything, I'm just figuring sooner or later you'll have no choice is all."He says with a nod. He reaches down to lift his meat to his lips and take a bite watching Lukas still as well as the others. He was curious as to how he would handle all this.

[Mama Ankle-Biter] The presence of pack brings a comforting feeling to Mama Ankle-Biter. It calms the constant flutter of her thoughts which beats rapidly like the wings of a hummingbird. Aspects of the totem's characteristics seems to affect each member under its banner differently - with Marni: it's hunger. Karl - his movement, and Ankle-Biter: the way she processes thought. The small woman snorts out a breath air, lifting an eyebrow up at Victor as he rejoins them. She grins, twitching her nose at the scent of raw meat. Her stomach growling, despite the pile of devoured cooked meat she just inhaled.

"So, what happen with that pretty boy ya fished out of the fountain earlier?" this to Victor.

[Asha Singh] "Me either," Asha replies, amicably, as she opens one of the three beers she has claimed as her own, still holding the other two, concerned though perhaps not convinced thatsomeone might come along and take them away. "My cousin Naima did, though. She tried to gross me out about it when we were eight. So I got cook to make samosas and I stuffed her samosa full fo worms instead of potato."

Asha pauses, studying her kill with a critical eye, taking an overlong draught of her beer, tipping her dark head back, black hair swinging. "Since you'e sharing," she says, "I've got dibs on the eyeball."

The carcass is fresh. He can see her the marks of her teeth in the unfortunate little creature's neck. " - though if you want to give him to summer, I'm good with that."

[Moira] Moira frowns at the Shadow Lord as he starts to confuse her. She wasn't drunk yet and the beer hadn't made her thoughts fuzzy enough to not think clearly. She finishes her plate of food and the beer, starting to stand up.

"You didn't answer my question, Simon, and what do you mean I will have no choice. No choice for what?"

[Victor Oseragighte] "Before or after," he asked after swallowing a mouthful of his meal, large enough that his cheeks had bulged. He wipes away a bit of blood from his lips before speaking again. "We were sitting. Talking. Then suddenly Adrian's in the fountain drowning at the end of the man's hand and I am being bowled over by the other one. All got a bit.... red for a while after that," he admitted softly.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "That, Asha, is completely disgusting." Lukas thinks for a moment. "When I was about six I made my future mate fall out of an oak tree. That's about the best I've got."

Then, taking a last bite of steak, he bends down to set his plate aside.

"Summer can have something else," he says, his eyes gleaming, his grin gleaming -- and then stretching wide and toothy as he starts to shapeshift. "Let's eat it."

A pair of Ahrouns, a Silver Fang and a Shadow Lord, playing at brinksmanship: the outcome was nearly inevitable.

[Mama Ankle-Biter] "So, let me get this straight. Ya and this... kin." tilting her head at Victor as she looks him over, "Were in the park talking, chatting and then all of sudden some Spirals showed up and decided to drown him and kill you?"

She blinks, running her thumb across her bottom lip, blond eyebrows knitting into a small frown, "Why did they want to do that, and what did ya do with him after me leaving?"

[Marni] Her eyes are on Lukas and Asha, but her attention is on Victor and the story he tells mama. Multitasking at it's best - as she's still emptying her plate at a rate that would make the biggest man gag and give up any attempt at keeping up with her...

[Karl Holds the Line] ”Someone told me there was going to be a celebration here, but it seems more like a graveyard.”

Spoken loud enough to carry as he angles towards Simon and Moira. A glance and a nod towards the other group as he does. Priorities after all.

“Bone-Grinder, don’t tell me you are trying to put the moves on my woman? Even I cant save you from her if she takes offense you know.”
Said with a grin to the shadowlord ahroun as he goes to wrap an arm around Moira.

[Simon] He laughs at Moira's question and his attention is pulled back to her."That's the million dollar question now isn't it? What exactly do I mean?"He asks her before giving a soft little laugh. He parts his lips and gently taps a canine with his tongue, a sign he was thinking if she had taken the time to read his cues in previous conversations.

"We don't always get our time to shine. I mean many do... We all stand around and puff and cheer and celebrate even the death of another of our kind. Victory, honor, and courage... These things are all beautiful and we center our society around them so much that we often miss the greater picture."He says with a smile."The quickest way to win a war... Is to end it."He says with a nod of his head and lifting the bottle of rum her direction and using it to wash his food down.

There is a sharp breath drawn in and a wince of his eyes. But he smiles soon enough and peeks up at Karl."I think your mate is more worried that I might be trying to make a move on you."He says with a laugh."I was wondering when you would show."

[Victor Oseragighte] "Drown him," he corrected her. "They were there for him. Adrian thinks it is related to some of them that he killed or was around when they were killed. I was just... wrong place. Wrong time. For them. Got lucky. Almost didn't."

[Moira] "Men!" She snorts out indignantly, shaking her head. A shudder runs across her spine as the broil of rage doubles, encasing her from the front and behind as Karl comes up to her, stealing an arm around her. She looks down at Simon, lips pursed into a thin line as she listens to him ... lecture.

"I am not worried one bit about you putting any moves on me, Simon, you couldn't reach first base even if you tried."

[Karl Holds the Line] ”Well, someone had to do their duty to the caern.”
Said with a chuckle to Simon.
“Patrol ran into some trouble so took a little longer then expected, but I am here now. As for making a move on me… No touchy feely until at least you buy me dinner, those are the rules.”

He turns his gaze to Moira, offering his mate a warm smile before he nuzzles her temple for a moment.
“Yes, we are horrible creatures.”

[Mama Ankle-Biter] "Yeah, you were pretty lucky..." She clucks her tongue against the roof of her mouth in thought, quirking an eyebrow at Victor. "What did ya do with the boy after Mama left?"

[Moira] "Yes, you all are. The bane of my existence." This she growls out at Karl, tilting her head to look back at the Rotagar, sighing as Moira leans back against him. She rolls her eyes up, looking up at the night sky as Simon and Karl flirt with each other in front of her. She bumps against the Fenrir holding her, dropping a hand to his arm and unwinds it from around her waist, stepping out of his grasp to sidle away and off to throw the plate and empty bottle away.

Moira moves off to a cooler to fetch a new one for herself and one for Karl, before returning back to them.

[Asha Singh] Asha rolls her eyes in Lukas' general direction, but there's a momentary shrewdness as her eye level on his. Still, she snorts in the end. "That's not even gross. When I was nine I stabbed all the fish in the pond at our estate in Sussex with my pata and put fish eyeballs in the shoes of my mother, my governess," there is a list. It becomes singsong as she tries to remember it all, "my etiquette instructor, Thomas, the cook, the undermaid, the chatelaine, and my fencing instructor. I didn't do anything to the chai-wallah, though."

She continues, companionably, her voice deepening as she begins to shift.

"I liked him."

--

And so: they shift. Either Lukas thinks he is calling Asha's bluff or vice versa. Neither will give up, however.

- and Asha, she's not bluffing.

"I GOT DIBS ON EYEBALLS."

- she growls, before speech is no longer possible. Then, finally lupine, gleaming silver, brilliant under the moon, the beast seizes the unfortunate muskrat in her jaws and holds out the other half for Lukas to seize. The first of the kill to the greatest in station.

[Simon] He grins at Moira's comment then looks up at Karl."Did that sound like she was challenging me to you? Cause you know if I didn't respect your claim over your mate I might have to respond to her challenge!"He says before grinning back to Moira."Right cause we totally are out to destroy you. I am sorry to admit but it would be a shame to destroy such a lovely kin. Your tribe would never let me live it down, and I don't think Karl would ever speak to me again."

[Mama Ankle-Biter] Mama looks up towards Lukas and Asha as they discuss the portions of the kill. She tilts her head to the side, arching a blond brow. "If any of ya had real gumption. Mama thinks Lukas should eat it in homid, unless he's too chicken to really savior the taste of a trash delicacy."

[Victor Oseragighte] "Kept watch on him back to his home. He loaned me some clothes, then headed somewhere else to spend the night. Think he was nervous to stay at his own place. He's safe, though," he assured the Gnawer, going silent again, subdued, as he tore off another mouthful and chewed.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] "No," his own voice is sliding from smooth to rough, from human to bestial, "I was a pretty good kid."

The truth is he was a wild brat. The truth is he shrieked and ran and slid and knocked about; the truth is they wouldn't recognize him, his pack, if they saw him the way he was. He's grown into a very controlled, very stoic man. Man-wolf. That's the thing, though. The way he is now, being wild would be dangerous. Or lethal.

Just look at those teeth when he achieves lupus form. He bites down on the front half of the muskrat and bones crunch and grate. His paws plant and his muscles bunch; with jerks and twists, he and his packmate pull and heave and rip at the carcass until it tears open, tears apart, comes apart with strings of meat and viscerae dangling, still warm. Feral now, the black wolf growls low at Mama Anklebiter, more instinctive warding than any real reply.

My food. Mine.

He sinks down on his belly, putting a paw over the morsel, and starts tearing heartily at the organ-meats in the body cavity. True to his word, Asha soon gets a chunk of flesh spat in her direction: half a heart. And a little later, when the brainpan is licked clean: the rest of the skull, grotesque and crushed, eyeballs dimly agleam beneath a fold of torn skin. Yummy!

[Karl Holds the Line] ”Well, then it is a good thing that you do Simon. I hate cleaning up the mess after her kills. Do you know how long it takes to get the blood cleaned from the walls? It is a pain, I tell you.”

Moira slips away and Karl glances after her, watching the sultry kin move away with an appreciative smile for a moment before catching himself and looking back to Simon.
“But that reminds me. I could use your assistance with something Simon. I need a partner.”
He does not make it sound as if it was for dancing, but doesn’t offer more detail than that for the time being.

“Thank you Moira.”
He accepts the beer from his mate with a smile, opening it to take a sip.
“Now… Beer settled. Why is no one fighting yet? You could think we were discussing politics or something. It is not any kind of real celebration until we offer some blood to the spirits of summer after all.”

[Mama Ankle-Biter] Mama nods her head, nudging the quiet Marni with her shoulder. She starts to pull herself up from the ground, glancing down at her empty plate. "Hmm, done good then, seeing him home. Not much else ya can do. Will have to let his tribe know what went down, but that won't be problem."

She gestures to the tables, "Gone to get more cooked meat to eat like a civilized human!" this shouted over to the pair of wolves that devour the muskrat. She looks on at them, shaking her head and twitching her nose. The growl that rumbles from the black wolf raises her hackles and the theurge turns to visually engage the wolf. Blue eyes fixed on him.

[Simon] He looks back at Karl and he nods his head."If you need me I am there... But if it involves me in a dress or any other women's clothing then I am gonna need cash up front."He adds with a bit of a chuckle.

[Simon] He then hears mention of Blood and shrugs his shoulders."Well why don't you go spill some blood? You've got three Ahrouns to choose from right here."

[Marni] She blinks as she's nudged, and grins sheepishly up at Mama. She's cleaned her plate, and could likely do another, but for the fact that she's suddenly sleepy, too. She hides a yawn behind her hand, and lazily watches the proceedings as she pats her belly, and simply does her best to stay awake and not miss a thing.

[Moira] Moira bumps her hip into Karl's eying him up and down with a furrow of her eyebrows. She slips around him, resuming her seat in the chair. Her eyes drift back to Simon, becoming tight lipped as she wiggles in the chair to get more comfortable. Moira rolls her eyes again, leaning her elbow down on the arm of the chair, hand cupping her cheek as she leans on it. Fingers thrum on the side of the bottle, looking between the two of them.

[Asha Singh] Black and white. There are words for that: chiaroscuro. They are like painted in the palette of some 1940s Noir film or some grade-school riddle: black and white and red. Lukas begins to tear apart the corpse of the unfortunate muskrat, and Asha - whose name is Other in this form, wholly inhuman, snaps and growls, hackles rising in support of her Alpha's warning to Mama.

Lukas licks the brainclean clean and heaves organ meat and the skull at her in quick succession. The Silver Fang downs the glistening viscera without hesitation, and without a second thought. Her black lips peel back from her sharp front teeth as she tongues at the eyeballs in their sockets, pushes at them until they disloge and come away far enough for her to grasp them with her teeth and gobble them down.

[Victor Oseragighte] He swallows and laughs silently at Lukas antics once he rises to Mama's taunts, shaking his head. He is reminded, though, by them of his own hunger, and tears away another chunk, grateful for this sustenance. Softly he adds to his earlier account, "the man was strong. He knocked me senseless for a few when I was in warform and frenzying. Definitely more dangerous than the other. Packmates, I believe. He called her 'sister.'"

[Karl Holds the Line] ”You are right of course. Leave it to the Fenrir to start the celebration.”
He takes a healthy swig of his beer, then looks over to the others.
“I will be right back.”

He brushes his hand over Moiras shoulder, then steps towards the other group, where MArni, Mama and the Unbroken sit with Victor. A glance to Lukas and Asha with their ‘feast’ as he approaches.
“Wyrmbreaker-rhya, k&+257;lar&+257;tri-yuf. Swallow-yuf.”

Greeting those three that are not his bonded pack. They have already received his touch through their shared bond.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Briefly, both wolves of the Unbroken are baring teeth at Mama Anklebiter. Briefly, the two Alpha lock eyes, blue to blue, fixed, the Shadow Lord clearly capable of taking it one step further into true challenge territory.

The fire isn't there between them, though. The tension and intent. Wyrmbreaker doesn't rise. Anklebiter doesn't lean forward to strengthen her stare. A moment passes, and then unremarked, the Fosterns turn away from each other: the wolf-shaped homid and the human-shaped lupus. Wyrmbreaker's tongue laves his muzzle as he watches his packmate gobble down the eyeballs. His tongue licks in and out a few more times, and then his eyes, icy-pale, startling against the pitchblack fur of this form, flick up to Karl.

"Holds the Line."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Did you know, the mental connection reopens, they eat brain-burgers in Texas? Battered and deep-fried. I hear it's about 1800% of your daily requirement of cholesterol.
to Asha Singh

[Victor Oseragighte] He grew quiet and still when he sensed that what had begun as jest could become more. It was his moon, and that put him on edge, even moreso after the events of earlier. Matters of the law, of dominance and hierarchy, he was keenly attuned to, on a level that still sometimes surprised himself. Victor only remembres to breathe when the potential Challenge does not materialize, finally nodding respectfully to Karl, though he keeps a wary eye on Wyrmbreaker.

[Asha Singh] I'll send Thomas, Asha replies, To get you one if you've a hankering.
to Lukas Wyrmbreaker

[Karl Holds the Line] ”It has come to my attention that you need a Fenrir to start the celebration properly. I don’t have a skald to set it up, but I am thinking we should have an Holmgång to honor the spirits.”

His own very pale blue eyes equally matching wyrmbreaker’s. Glacial pale and cold.

“Who is up for it?”

[Asha Singh] (Asha would do it! Damon has my permission to NPC her if he wants.)

[Victor Oseragighte] Unfamiliar with the Fenrir's terms, he cants his head quizzically, not needing to speak a single word to ask the man what he is talking about, at least if Karl is perceptive enough.

[Asha Singh] (and Kora was here ages ago. so pretend she's around too. PRETEND.) (liz goes poof.)

[Moira] Moira continues to hold her silence, opening the third beer she retrieved and nurses it slowly. Her eyes flick up to watch Karl walk away, head lying back against the chair, glancing over at Simon. "I am surprised that you did not just jump up at the first sign of a challenge for a fight, Simon."

She looks up at the sky, "So, why is it you need to win my approval, Lord?"

[Mama Ankle-Biter] Mama stares; she sighs, air expelled from her lungs. She shakes her head turning away from Lukas to head back to the food table to pile more food onto her plate and then wanders off to find a place to sit quietly and watch the proceedings.

[Simon] He grins back at Moira."I am a full moon so I am always ready for a fight, but I am also a Shadow Lord and that means I am also the kind who likes to choose my fights carefully. I did not feel like fighting, maybe I thought I would much rather linger back here and try to win your approval?"He asks playfully as he looks back at her.

[Moira] "Again, you are refusing to explain yourself, Simon." She turns to look at him, shifting in the chair now, her body leaning to the side. Elbow propped up on the arm of the chair, hand still cupping her chin as she regards him. She points the tip of the beer bottle at him.

"Why." It wasn't phrased as a question, but a statement.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] The black wolf cocks his head in puzzlement. The white ... is still devouring the last scraps of the unfortunate muskrat.

"What is it?"

[Karl Holds the Line] ”Ahh, forgive me. It is a ritual combat, a test of both skill and balance. Two warriors face each other while standing on a log. The first to fall off loses, and the winner remains to face the next challenger until all but one is defeated.”

The Norse shrugs a little, giving a brief smile as he explains.

“It is something we do for the solstices now. A test of strength and skill to honor the passing of one season, and to herald in the next.”

[Simon] He meets her gaze right back."And why do you consider this to be so entirely important?"He asks her with a tilt to his head, canting just enough to show question."You are a female and not an entirely bad looking one. I would think that you would realize that impressing females happens to be one of those things we males go out of our way to achieve."He says with a charming smile

[Simon] [Does color coding actually work]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 9)

[Victor Oseragighte] He almost turned away from the idea entirely; after what he'd gone through earllier, the idea of fighting for sport was not especially pleasant at the moment. But then there was they key word: balance. This intrigues him, and he swallows another bite before rising. It sounded very similar to some of the games his own tribe played. "Try me."

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] This is how you tell a homid in wolf-form from a lupus: Wyrmbreaker tries to laugh, his tongue lolling out with a silent huff. A moment later he's shifting back to his birthform, wiping blood and fur from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Getting knocked off a log on summer solstice sounds like fun to me. I'll throw my hat in the ring too."

[Karl Holds the Line] ”Excellent. Give me a little time to prepare the log. I would suggest drinking more beer. It pleases the spirits and makes for good laughter for those watching..”

Said with a grin as he turns from the gathered, heading over to where Kora is resting. A moments discussion with the Skald, and the two of them take off into the woods, shifting to their war forms as they do. There are plenty of logs in the forest after all.

[Moira] "I am trying to gauge what you are up to, Simon." She finally says after a moment of thought, her eyes narrowing on the Shadow Lord that sits adjacent from her. She raises the bottle of beer to her mouth, eyes pulled away to scan the small gathering of Garou.

There weren't a lot of them, not like the last few bonfires. It seems the numbers have decreased over the months with so many lost to war or simply leaving. Her gaze settles on Karl as he explains what about the combat, nostrils flaring as she snorts out.

She returns her attention to Simon, watching him carefully, like one might a snake in the grass. "Since when was it considered good sport to pursue a taken woman? Or is that where the challenge lies, to see just how faithful she is?"

[Simon] He grins."I'm not pursuing a taken woman. You just wanted an answer as to why a man would want to impress a woman. I honestly don't think it has to have anything to do with romantic intentions..."He shrugs his shoulders.

[Moira] "And that is why I question you, Simon, what is the point of even saying you want to win my approval if there is no intention of pursuing. There is no reason at all for you to win my approval. Why should my opinion matter to a Garou?"

Her shoulders roll up in a small shrug, glancing away to peer over the remaining garou.

[Victor Oseragighte] He finished the rest of his steak off and decided to indulge in a beer while Karl readied the stage, as it were, watching curiously. He wanted to see how this held up against similar wrestling games he'd learned on the Res.

[Karl Holds the Line] It takes the two Fenrir a little while, returning with 6 smaller logs, about the thickness of a mans wrist, about as tall as well. Then a much larger log follows. Another few minutes of rope work as the six smaller pieces of wood and bound together to form a solid base, spread wide apart at the base, and coming together at the top in a pyramid shape with enough room to fit the larger log.

The final step as the two Fenrir lift the larger log together, roping it to either of the braces and the construction is finished finally. There wont be a large fall, but a clear one, as the other log is about shoulder high when Karl shifts back to homid in a blur. He grabs the edge fo the large log and swings up easily, jumping up and down on it with surprising agility, testing its strength. Nodding to himself, he jumps down and then offers Kora a nod as thanks for her help.

“Alright, who is willing to Holmgång to honor the past and coming season?”

He slaps the edge of the large log with his palm noisly, then grabs his beer and empties it in one large gulp.

[Karl Holds the Line] (The smaller logs are about 6 feet tall *chuckles* just to clarify)

[Victor Oseragighte] His bottle is set down and he smiles knowingly as he walks forward, striding up to ungainly structure to examine it, running the palm of his hand across a rough surface. The Wendigo turns his head to the Fenrir, to his future packmate, it would appear, and nods resolutely.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] In the time that Karl is preparing his log, Lukas -- rather obediently -- has gone to get himself more beer. No, not beer; vodka. He's tossed down one, two, three shots in the meantime, and then stands by watching curiously as the Fenrir works.

The final product is not what Lukas expected. The thing he had visualized was something like the log bridge battle in the legend of Robin Hood: a single log laid across a gap. This is something closer to a seesaw, a log balanced across a fulcrum, swaying slightly. He looks up at it, eyebrows raised.

Then, resolutely, he pounds down a last shot of vodka and steps up.

"I'll take on whoever's left. In the meantime," he raises his bottle, "I'm going to keep pleasing the spirits."

[Simon] With a shrug of his shoulders he leans forward."Because I am an asshole. Because I talk to people like they are beneath me. Because I am a monster and I have done some pretty fucked up and unspeakable things already and I haven't even gotten started. Because I am a heartless fucker who would gladly bend or break any rule he needed to to overcome a threat... But sooner or later I'm gonna wind up in a fuckin' coffin... And nothing I ever did is gonna matter if someone isn't around to remember what it was I did."He says back to her before winking and standing.

He turns to face Karl and takes a drink from his Bottle."I don't know what a Holmgang is... But I'll gladly accept. I am not about to let the fenrir show me up!"He says with a proud smile as he approaches Karl and the logs that were brought forth!

[Karl Holds the Line] Karl grins at the others, then jumps up on the log, moving to the middle of it to balance it up, waiting for the first challenger, looking between those that took the challenge with a grin.
“Rules are simple. Human skin, no weapons, but everything else goes. You fall of, and that’s that. Next challenger is up. Winner gets the glory and his choice of drinks for the night.”

And with that, he waves his hand as if to challenge people up to meet him.

[Victor Oseragighte] Victor nods to this recitation of rules before he glances to Simon. He studies him, then turns back and climbs up onto the log with slow, careful certainty. He tests his perch, rocking up and down on his feet, before announcing simply, "I am ready."

[Moira] "I think Fenrir should show you up." Moira says suddenly to Simon as she straightens up in her seat, she looks around, taking a final pull from her beer emptying it completely. She stands up, stepping away to retrieve another and throws the empty bottle away. Her eyes scope out the log type seesaw they create, arching an eyebrow as she watches it.

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [just restating here, the mutually-agreed dicing rules:

- Roll dex+ath reflexively at the beginning of each round to act, normal diff (plus drunk modifiers, if applicable)
- Roll combat normally
- Roll dex+ath reflexively if you're successfully hit; diff is 6 + 1 for every 2 successes on opponent's attack roll.]

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas is grimacing as yet another shot of vodka slides down. "You know," he remarks, eyebrows flicking up, "you could be that Fenrir to show my tribesman up, Moira."

[Simon] He lifts a brow and looks at Moira."Are you challenging me then kin?"He asks the woman curiously with a brilliant grin on his face."Should we check and see if your mate is alright with this?"

[Victor Oseragighte] (( Alrighty. For starters, since he's testing it out, he's going to just evade Karl and see if he cannot shake him off by bouncing the log. ))

[Victor Oseragighte] (( Whoops,. That was meant to be for Karl. ))

[Moira] There is a touch of defiance that sparks in those blue eyes of hers, she looks between the pair of Shadow Lords. First to Lukas, and then to Simon. She sets her hands on her hips, tucking in her bottom lip to chew on it thoughtfully.

"Alright, I'll give it a go." She says to the both of them, her eyes flicking up and down Simon, "Are you worried he'll beat into a pulp if I get hurt?"

[Simon] He smiles back to her."I am worried he will get offended if I accidentally hurt you is all. I don't wanna piss a friend off."

[Karl Holds the Line] [Dex + ath reflexive]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] [gonna post it here too -- i'm heading to bed in 10, so sorry but i'ma have to miss the dice fun! thanks for the play though, i had a blast.]

[Lukas Wyrmbreaker] Lukas is born of Czech stock, the son of a long line of Slavs. He drinks like one: one shot after another with no effort.

A lifetime this side of the pond, however, has apparently made him weak and susceptible to the wiles of ethanol. While he's waiting for his turn on the log, the Ahroun -- sitting on the ground with his back to a rock -- dozes off. Chin to chest, arms folded, he'll likely quietly slumber there til morning.