Unearthing a Den (Attn: Bodycount, Keys, Snow)

Snow leads her two remaining packmates through the city, though she falls back several times to allow Keys to set them on the right course towards the quarry. As they come into view of the large, open area on the outskirts of downtown its the large earthen mounds that block the view of the site from the street, she stops and sniffs at the air, trying to get a sense of the place.

Moon is crescent.

The place smells of dust and trees and...squirrels? Yes. Squirrels. Lots of very similar smelling squirrels.

When Keys (also still in urhan) catches scent of the squirrels, she freezes. Slowly falling into a hunting crouch, the breeze ruffles the stripes across her neck as her nose turns to locate the source of the scent. When (if?) she thinks she has the correct direction of the prey, a quick tilt of her head and flick of her ears in Snows direction make her question perfectly clear.

Hunt?

The quiet rumble of her stomach is followed by a wag of her tail.

Please?

Snow growls in response to Keys' question.

Stay with me.

With ears back but tail high, she moves forward, leading the other two onto the grounds.

Keys' nose wrinkles in frustration but she quietly drops her head and tail and turns to slink after Snow. As she moves up near -- but not past -- Bodycount she briefly bumps under his jaw her nose in a habitual submissive gesture.

Bodycount follows close behind Snow, also in Urhan form, keeping his head high, his ears up, and his tail just slightly lower than Snow holds hers. He returns Key's deferential gesture with an affectionate but somewhat forceful nudge.

He sniffs the air, letting out a small huff of disappointment.

No guards.

Julia looks into the spirit world, and finds nothing. No spirits at all. No spiritual reflections either. The only thing preventing it from being utterly blasted wasteland is that there are still gentle hills in both worlds.

Julia again growls, then let's escape a soft, concerned whine. She was concerned about encountering spirits that might be found here, but was even more concerned by the lack of any spirits at all.

She slips into her human skin, rising up on to her back legs as her paws become hands and feet, her muzzle shrinks to become her feminine nose and pursed mouth, her ears round and shift down the side of her head before disappearing under a tangle of raven colored hair. The fur covering her body quickly recedes beneath her pale skin and her jeans, boots, and other clothing seem to appear out of an invisible mist to envelop her thin form.

"I don't like this," she says with a frown. "There's nothing on the other side but empty hills. Be on your guard."

She leads the others deeper into the grounds, looking for the structure Keys informed her should be there.

You find the structure just fine. (Keys, describe the structure) The smell of squirrel permeates the area, and you spot droppings all over the place.

Bodycount perks up at Snow's comment, looking around with renewed interest.

Maybe guards after all.

He trots up ahead of the others, sniffing the air carefully, his ears fully upright and his muscles tensing with the eager anticipation of a fight.

Squirrels. Where are they?

{The "quarry" can be found on the Google map on the Twilight Valley site; it's in the upper left quadrant of the Forsaken territory, above Alkali Flat.}

The property that the three uratha examine isn’t actually a quarry (where they dig rock out of the ground) but a place where trucks once dumped stone to be used in construction projects. The grinding operations, part of an older setup on the same property, were dumping waste that was getting into the ground water. Shut down by environmentalists, the owners couldn't get a variance to change the local codes and they couldn't afford to buy the eco-friendly equipment to continue operations, so they shut down and abandoned the facility. Now, more than a decade after it was shut down, all of the rock-grinding equipment is gone, sold for what profit they could salvage.

The grounds are in terrible shape. An eight foot tall chain link fence with razor wire topping it blocks access to the property from all sides, though their actually meant to keep people off the railroad tracks that form the northern and southern boundaries of the property. Even the driveway is hard to distinguish from the railroad’s service road. What was once a fine concrete parking lot is nearly hidden under dirt and rubble, cracked and weedy. The south and west sides of the property completely obscured the building from sight of 7th Street, D Street, and the southern railroad line. Towering piles of crushed stone and sand litter the property to the south of the building, helping conceal it from accidental notice. The northern and eastern sides of the property are protected by a wide open space of gently rolling ground covered in low scrub, with the occasional tree. Being the middle of winter in California, the land should be a rich green this time of year, but as with the Shadow the land itself seemed withered. The only exception is the giant oak growing incongruously lush and strong on the east end of the building. It has been there so long that the two utility poles rise from between its branches like extra trunks.

The only remaining building is a marvel of 1950’s ugly practicality. A solidly built two-stories of concrete and steel, the once lead-white walls are now patchworked by rust and graffiti but still sound. Although the utility lines pass through the property, there is no power to the building. If it weren’t for the uratha’s heightened senses, the dark gray steel roof would blend into the dark landscape behind it. From this side of the building, a large rollup door that should open onto a vehicle bay can be seen to the west, with a smaller personnel door on the east end. Chicken wire-covered windows high up under the eaves show signs of cracking, but seem to have managed to survive the worst of the vandalism.

{I wanted to give everyone a chance to react before we go inside}

"It’s lovely," Snow says to Keys as she studies the grounds. Though her words are sarcastic, she lets her finger tips drift over the Irraka's ruff and back as the urhan strides by excitedly, the physical touch acknowledging the good job Keys had done in finding the place.

"Let’s walk the grounds once before we head inside. Something feels off to me.”

She starts to circumnavigate the property.

Good for the dogs, Bodycount confirms excitedly.

At Snow's decision to walk around the place, he shoots off along the fence ahead of the others, but keeps enough presence of mind to stay within sight of them.

Keys was interested in the state of the Shadow here. She paces about, shifting her perception back and forth across the barrier. Something wasn't right, but it wasn't completely bad, either, at least not to her. Tainted by pollution or intentionally stripped? She sneezed and shook her fur out to refocus back in the now. It didn't matter to Keys. Things can only go up from here. I can make it better.

She startles a bit when Snow strokes her neck. She instinctively crouches, ears flat and her head tilted up and out, baring her neck submissively at the tone of the alpha's voice. When her mind catches up with the sarcasm and the approval beneath it, her ears perk up and her tongue lolls out happily.

As Snow moves off to begin the walk about, Keys even risks dashing up and pressing her head against the woman's thigh. As quickly as she moves up on her, though, she is gone, slipping away to position herself about ten feet further into the property from where Snow is walking.

Nothing but days old squirrel droppings and the fence are around. The fence doesn't seem terribly well attached to the ground. In fact, it looks like some of the metal has been chewed through.

Snow notes the chewed sections of the fence. "Why are there so many droppings," she mutters to herself, though the sensitive hearing of her packmates in their wolf forms is likely keen enough to pick it up, "and yet no sign of any actual squirrels or even much in the way of trees?"

She glances toward the old, ominous structure, and she can't but feel apprehensive about the rusting building. She sighs.

"Let's go in." She starts toward it.

Keys follows Snow to the building, making sure to scope out the perimeter of the building before shifting back to her human form.

"All de doors be locked, but I tink de one on the south side be easiest to open." she tells Snow and Bodycount.

Once the rusted door is pried open, wan moonlight and the glow of city lights filters in through the clouded windows above. There is little to see; the equipment inside had been sold off as well, even down to the interior doors. The only remaining piece is one of the large funnel-shaped dispensers sitting in the middle of the truck bay. The east end of the building is a maze of small rooms, including a kitchen with a twenty year old stove, a long folding table with a twisted leg, and a jumble of mismatched chairs piled into the corner of a large dining room. A locker room off the kitchen holds a surprising number of lockers still bolted to the walls, along with four toilet stalls and a shower bay all containing fixtures that appear to be in working condition, even if they are caked in grime.

Steel stairs lead up to a partial second floor. The iron mesh scaffolding follows the outside of the second floor, gaping portals opening into areas filled with piles of discarded receipts and records. Following it around leads to a second set of stairs that lead back down into the truck bay. Chains hang broken from steel girders where rock moving equipment was once attached, and a single heavy-duty hook and winch system is caught on the edge of the rock funnel.

Throughout the exploration of the place Keys is like a kid at Christmas, eager to get from one room to the next to see what's in it and what can be done with it.

{Oh, and the building is 85x130 feet, making it about 11,000 square feet of space.}

Unlike her packmate, Snow moves through the building at a deliberate pace. This is in part due to her unease regarding the spiritual landscape, which she can still see. But she is also studying the building from a practical standpoint. Will it serve their purposes? Where will they sleep? Where will they work out and train? Can they defend the place? Each of these questions, and at least partial answers, run through her mind as she walks the length of the building.

"Its not bad," she says finally, after having explored every part of the building. "It will need a lot of work, but it for now at least it will do as a home den. Good job, Keishauna." She nods at the Irraka approvingly.

"Bodycount," she calls out, for she is not entirely certain where in the building he is, "it looks like we'll settle here. But could you try to find the source of that squirrel smell? Until I know where its coming from I'm not going to be comfortable."

Bodycount pads around inside the building, quite pleased with what he sees, although looking a bit puzzled at the same time.

He yips in acknowledgement of Snow's order, sniffing the air carefully as he trots about, trying to determine if the smell is ematating from, or at least more concentrated in, one particular place.

Keishauna clicks away on her iPhone, making a list of the things she thinks are needed to improve the place. Locate water shut-off. Generator for electricity. Doors. Grease for doors. Cloth for windows. Propane for stove? Bedding. Mini-fridge. FOOD.

She smiled Snow's compliment, but the squirrel problem that was bugging Snow stole some of her success. Not having paid much attention to squirrels in the past (except as an occasional meal), she Googled "squirrel". She snickered and held out her phone for Snow to see.

"Whatever it is, it can't be dis bad."

Snow looks briefly at the image of the Squirrel in a military helmet holding a bazooka, frowns, and then shakes her head at Keys.

"Maybe Carrion-Crow-Pecks-the-Eyes-of-the-Dead have some idea?" Keys suggests helpfully, trying to recover some level of Snow's approval. "We see if she like dis place too?"

"Should I let de guys know is good?" she asks, gesturing vaguely around the place with her phone.

"No, don't disturb them," answers Snow. "Who knows what they're doing."

"As for Crow, she's around. I'm sure she'll voice her opinion soon enough. In any case we'll set up a rookery like the one we had in San Francisco."

After a half hour, during which Snow and Keys continue to examine the property, Bodycount returns, looking visibly annoyed and somewhat ashamed.

No luck. Smell comes from all over. No squirrels. Just smell.

Snow frowns. "Fine. We'll all search." She slips back into wolf form and begins attempting to track the scent.

(Everyone send a wits+survival -2. Bodycount is at -3 due to repetition)

Keys shifts back to her wolf-form and follows her alpha back out into the night. Whether it was native talent or hunger that gave her the edge over the others, she was the first to locate the source of the smell. Nose centimeters off the ground, she tracks the squirrels to a natural cave. When she realizes what she's found, she stops, tilts her head to the side quizzically, and gives an uneasy yip to get the others' attention.

The cave is barely wide enough to fit one person at a time, and is only 5 feet tall. Pitch black inside, it just sort of springs out from one of the rises in the area.

(Active Gifts: Two World Eyes)

Snow looks over toward Keys when she yips, then rushes over quickly, pushing past her packmate to get to the mouth of the cave. She sniffs at the opening, trying to confirm that this is indeed the source of the scent, though she doesn't doubt her packmate's senses. Her ears lay flat on her skull and her lips curl back just slightly to reveal a hint of pointed, canine teeth. She lets loose a low, gutteral growl.

Danger. Stay back.

She isn't sure which world she should be more concerned with, but for now she was content to know from where the scent was coming. She ushered her packmates to keep a few steps away while she considered their options.

Keys backpedals quickly when Snow growls, but sidles around her to continue to peer into the darkness from a distance. She keeps her ears pointed straight at the hole, straining to hear any sounds drifting out.

Enemy? What? her posture begs the questions without making a sound.

Bodycount has to be physically pushed back from the cave, letting out a frustrated whine as he is. For a moment it looks as if he's about to resist, but he relents, instead pacing back and forth and baring his teeth at the cave.

He growls loudly in challenge towards the cave, raising his hackles and flattening his ears: Come out and face us! Come out and fight!

A few seconds later, a deeper, but quieter growl comes back:
"Come out and face us! Come out and fight"

Bodycount's growl turns into a vicious snarl. He crouches, plainly about to hurl himself into the cave.

At the odd echo of Bodycount's challenge, Keys dropped into a defensive crouch. Is it just an echo, or is there something in the cave mocking us? Edging a little closer, she focused on penetrating the darkness and seeing further into the cave.

Snow also snarls, but her growl isn't directed at the cave. She's turned her head to face Bodycount and Keys, teeth flashing, eyes blazing, and directing the entirety of her bearing towards them.

Back off, she seems to say, the ideas coming through in the tone of her growl and the posturing of her body, I am alpha. I am Ithaeur. Submit. Back off.

She stares them down, teeth bared, until they do as she says.

Bodycount catches himself just in time, almost stumbling as he struggles to keep his balance. He stands on edge, his gaze shifting between the cave and the interposed Snow several times, his lips sliding just halfway back to cover his teeth.

With a final, proud snarl at the cave he retreats a couple of steps back, huffs loudly and shakes himself violently before plopping down on his belly, chin on the ground with a sour, dejected look on his lupine face as he keeps staring at the cave.

At Snow's snarl, Keys drops flat to the ground, her ears pinned back to her lowered head and her tail tucked under her body... but she doesn't retreat and she doesn't take her eyes off the darkness within the cave.

I found. I see. I seek first. she yips in protest. [i]Let me?[/]

Satisfied that Bodycount had given ground and submitted, Snow rushed quickly to her pack sister and literally stood over her now prone form. She snarled again in warning, and bared her teeth only centimeters away from Key's neck. Then, without waiting for Keys to respond, she nipped at her pack sister once, twice, three times.

No. Submit.

Snow continued to stand over her, legs on either side of Key's body, not allowing her to rise.

With a surprised yelp and a half-hearted attempt to snap back at Snow, Keys rolls to her back in submission after Snow bites her.

I submit, but the tension in her body and her averted gaze hint ...for now.

Snow snaps once more at Keys for good measure, though she does not connect this last time. She lets her curled lips slip gradually back to cover her teeth, but she does not immediately get off of her pack mate. Instead she continues to stand above her, though her expression becomes more casual and disinterested in this wolf who has exposed her belly to her. After a minute or two she steps away as if nothing happened, allowing Keys to get off the ground.

Snow takes her human skin and turns around, offering her hand to the Irraka girl. "Come on, get up," she says. "You, too, Bodycount. We've work to do."

Bodycount gets to his feet and shakes himself again. Then he changes back to Hishu, grunting in the direction of the cave opening and kicking a loose rock on the ground towards it.

"Aren't we going in there at all?" he asks Snow.

Keys' emotions roiled at the dismissive way that Snow exerted her dominance. She wanted to lash out with her fangs and test how far the new alpha was willing to go to maintain her position. How deep would she bite the next time?

But Snow stepped away and commanded her to get up before Keys could act on her turmoil. Without rising, Keys shifted back to human form. She takes Snow's hand to get up, but doesn't look at her. She just waits quietly for Snow to answer Bodycount's question.

"No, we're not," Snow answered as she pulled Keys to her feet. She noted the Irraka's reaction to what had happened, but decided it was best not to act on it for now. "Not yet. Not if we don't have to. Last time we rushed into a rodent hole without knowing exactly what was in there or how many...I'm just not ready to lose either of you."

Snow hesitates, and for the briefest of moments you catch a glimpse of sadness cross her face. But then, in an instant, its gone and she continues.

"I want the two of you to go and find some acorns or berries or something. You'll probably have to leave the quarry, as I don't see anything like that arond here. Find as many as you can and bring them back here as quick as you can."

Bodycount's cheeks go slightly red as Snow mentions that 'last time'. He crosses his arms across his chest, looking off to the side. However, when she tells them to go off fetching nuts, he looks back at her, straight into the eyes.

"No," he says firmly. "Remember what you said yourself, just a little while ago? 'When we must be apart or split up, make sure you are with at least one other member of the pack.' That's what you said, Snow. Word for word."

"I know you're tough as all hell, and I know you're the boss, but that doesn't mean those same words don't apply to you. If we're going to go and fetch nuts, you're coming along with us. Cause Keys and I and all the rest, we're not ready to lose you, either."

"Do not say dat Juan-Vidal was not prepared," Keys growls darkly as she turns to face her alpha square on. "Dere was no way to now what tricks dey had ready. I know, I de one who scout it out. But waiting would not have made it better." She looks directly into Snow's emerald eyes.

"Too slow to act be as bad as too quick."

Snow considers Bodycount's words. She had wanted to stay here near the hole, to observe and see if anything came or went or if anything else happened. But he was right, and she had to keep herself safe and she had to abide by her own decisions every bit as much as them. She was about to say so when Keys cut in with her angry words, and Snow stiffened as the rage inside her clawed to the surface. She had to bite her lip to keep from snapping back...or worse.

"We are not doing this now," she said through clenched teeth, turning to meet Key's gaze with her own, her hands clenched into fists. Her shoulders visibly rise and fall with her anger, and it is clear she has no intetion of entering into a discussion of Juan-Vidal and the last actions he took as alpha.

"You want to act? We are acting. Acting fast doesn't meen acting stupid, which is exactly what going head first into that hole is. Stupid. We'd have to go single file, with no room to take the war form, and with the very real possibility that whoever leads the way will be at the mercy of whatever horror lies inside because the others can't get around him to help should he need it. You want to put Bodycount in that position? Because he'd be going first. Will you give that command and send him without aid into the unknown?"

Snow shakes her head and doesn't wait for an answer. "No, we're not doing it that way. You're smarter than that, Keys."

Now," begins Snow as she takes a step toward the Irraka, "we all are going to find some acorns and we are going to draw whatever is in there out so we can get some idea of what we're up against. And I'm going to try and speak to it or them and see if we can strike a deal. Though spirits are nasty and cut throat and will take every opportunity to backstab us should doing so prove advantageous to them, the unfortunate truth is we need allies among the spirits to strengthen our position here. Otherwise we are sitting ducks to the Pure or other Forsaken or anything else that catches us unawares."

For a long, tense moment Keys stands her ground and maintains eye contact. She welcomed the rage she could feel her alpha was holding in check; it was better than the hidden grief she saw a moment before. How dare she? He was my father, not hers. But finally, Keys turns her glare to the dirt at their feet, lowering her chin nearly to her chest and taking a step backward.

"No," she whispers roughly to the ground, "not now. Not 'till we all safe."

Shifting uneasily, she nods back towards the building as she speaks up for Bodycount's benefit. "Dere be an oak tree by de buildin', an' if'n we got to, dere be plenty of garbage to pick through fer stuff back by de TV station 'cross the tracks."

Snow watches her pack mate a moment longer, keeping her eyes on the Irraka even as Keys looks away and speaks of where they might find the things they need. She takes a couple deep breaths to calm herself further, then nods.

"Come on, Keishauna Ramos," she says as she walks to the dark skinned girl and puts her hand on Keys' upper arm, "help me find what I need for this. I think this is the best way, and if it doesn't work and we have to go in we'll find a way to dig them out."

For the briefest moment Keys leans slightly into Snow's touch, only to pull away with a shrug of acquiescence.

"Si, Primera." She moves away from Snow and over to Bodycount. Attempting to lighten the mood a bit, she puts up an obviously mock tough attitude.

"An' if you tell anyone I had to go pick up nuts for tree rats, I tell everyone you shave your chest!"

Bodycount breathes out in relief as Keys backs down.

He blinks at Keys' mock threat, chuckling despite himself.

"Since when's that a secret? 'Course I shave my fucking chest, it's a canvas. Who wants to see pretty pictures covered in hair? Go ahead and tell anyone you like, maybe they'll want me to give them tattoos, too."

He pauses slightly and grins. "I'm not gonna write your name on any more of your flings, though, like that Mikey fellow you dragged home to me three months ago. I don't understand why you let him do that, it's just cruel."

"Also, Keys," he gives her a playful shove, "pick through garbage? Seriously? What are you, a raccoon? If we don't find any acorns on or by this tree, we're gonna buy some nuts, not leaf through somebody else's trash. No steak house is gonna serve us if we come in with you smelling like a container."