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I waffled a bit on how to approach Thane anonymously and with minimal risk to self and him. Initially I thought it might be best to track down where it is he sleeps and then come to him as a robe-shrouded Jedi in a desert of endless dunes as I did with Benedict. And then I thought that that might not be the best idea; Thane might take a mental invasion like that as a serious threat, so something external would be better. That made me think of further developing the robed figure illusion using Forces magicks, but then I realized a human-looking figure on the bawn might be considered a threat, too. So something more natural, and something I was already intimately familiar with its shape and movements. D'uh. The cougar form I'd used over the past two-ish years, often for as long as a week. I was very familiar with the form and its movements, so it should be easy to replicate an optical illusion of that big cat, which is native to the area, and which might be considered less of a threat than a mental invasion or a mysterious human figure on the bawn. Plus it completely cloaked my physical identity. Plus it's derivative of this effect I'd learned about while attending an earlier Star Wars party (when they released Episode IV in the Navajo language) where a Virtual Adept explained a rote he'd developed to allow him to telepresence himself as a tiger using Forces, Correspondence, and a VR rig. (My version's simpler without my need for VR gear as a focus/crutch.) Using a Kylo Ren voice modulator I picked up for my Star Wars collection, it was a piece of cake to alter the sound of my voice. Done, done, and done. I spent a couple nights working with the cougar illusion in my sanctum, making some adjustments here and there, and was finally satisfied with it. (LOLCat, on the other hand, was not thrilled about it. And I have to admit that I might have surprised him with it once on purpose to see if he thought it was realistic. Yuuuuuup. Poor cat got some cream and a can of tuna that night, even though it gives him the nastiest of farts.)
I gave Val a ring beforehand to let her know what was up and, since she could now go to the caern, suggested she might want a bird's eye view of the scene to share with others (including other Corax) later. (Better to feed the Corax the stories you'd prefer be spread as opposed to the stories it scrounges up.) So she showed up in time to catch the festivities.
Realizing that Thane was likely at the caern, I used the fire in the fireplace, which I'd transported from the fire pit at the caern, as a means of facilitating the connection between my cabin and the fire pit I so often frequent. Thane was there, so I manifested the cougar out in the woods to make the effect more coincidental--rather than having it emerge from the fire pit, which.... Yeah. Trying to look normalish and not freak out the Shadow Lord and new sept alpha if at all possible. But by the time I'd finished manifesting the Cougar and moving it back to the edge of the caern, Alicia'd shown up. Oh, well. I went ahead and announced myself.
Overall, I think the introduction went well, even after I identified myself as being an allied warper. (I love that term so much more than mage, even though it's used as an insult among the garou.) When asked for a name, I used Brings-the-Pack (the name I'd used when pretending to be a cougar back when I had that shapeshifting talisman--before I traded it away to get Salem healed). Thane asked for a reference to my claims of having been a sept ally for a long time, and I intentionally avoided dropping the names of garou (or corax) who knew me. Instead, I dropped one of the caern totems' names: Aahn. I frankly can't think of a better name drop. A caern totem knows me, will vouch for me, and kept my identity from the garou who've pledged to defend/protect the caern.
Mic drop.
That didn't seem to be enough for Alicia though, who kept demanding to know who I was and eventually blew up over my refusal to comply, and then that.... Yeah. It's reasons like this that I don't reveal who I am to the sept at large. She told Thane that he was on his own. I'm honestly stunned the Shadow Lord didn't knock her senseless on the spot over that, but I suspect it'd be tactically idiotic to start a fight among your own ranks when an outsider and potential threat is standing right there at the edge of the caern watching the whole thing. And Shadow Lords, from what I hear, are all about tactical advantages and biding their time. Alicia seems pissed at two people who she suspects knew me and didn't tell her about me. Jacinta, obviously, as I'd mentioned coming there that night as I'd learned of a leadership change for the sept and wanted to introduce myself and offer services to the new Alpha. Who's the other? I'll have to send a warning out to everyone who knows me. Let them know what happened in case Alicia blows up at one of them. (Slug, Val, Mouse, Emma, Salem, Jacinta, SIlvertip. Miss anyone local? Nope. Everyone else who knew has moved on or died.)
I had the cat-illusion walk back into the forest afterwards before disappearing. No need to let people know it was an illusion and not an a, but I was left with a new dilemma. I, as Nick, had access to the caern as a kinfolk, however Thane had not permitted Brings-the-Pack, the warper, to enter the caern proper. Can I go back to the caern as Nick? Good, lord. The ethics behind this is boggling. Can I go back as Nick and just not use any magick--not even the sensory stuff I use to look at and feel the ebb and flow of the caern's energies? Or can I just not re-enter the caern at all? Obviously, if I went as Nick and obeyed the latter, it'd look a bit weird if I hiked all the way out there only to not enter the caern itself like other kin could do. Especially at a moot. Ugh.
Goddammit, Nick. Where the fuck did you get this sense of honor from? It is so damn annoying. These rules are stupid. CHANGE THEM. IGNORE THEM. They're imposed by garou who are clueless. The caern totems are okay with me being there. Who the hell is ultimately in charge of a caern, anyhow?
So. Frustrating.
But I'm going to be respectful as they were there first. And you don't shit and piss on potential allies. Especially those who might share resources to everyone's benefit when there's a lot of ugly shit in town.
Yesterday I went and spent some time alone, shooting pool at the pool hall and nursing beers. Brom showed up and joined me, which then attracted the attention of a woman who'd been in the bar earlier. (He has claw scar marks. I imagine these tend to be giveaways for "seasoned" garou--and one of the reasons Salem was so concerned about someone who's heavily scarred yet looks like they might be thinking about growing a pubic hair soon might draw undue attention. (Here's hoping to Salem staying scar-free for a while.)
Sadie, a Walker kin, and Reggie, an Uktena ahroun (hauling in wares for the pool hall), showed up shortly thereafter. I managed to get a subtle Entropy/Spirit scan in on Risa, who did not ping as Wyrm tainted. (Of course, frustratingly, I could not share that information with anyone present.) And then I left to get Sadie out of there while Brom made introductions with Risa--and give Sadie contact info for both Reggie and Brom, in case she wanted to talk with either. I think Brom fancies her, but dear lord he'd probably break her in half. (Says the warper who accidentally caved in a fomori's skull, Nick. Remember that?)Gah. I feel dirty. I hope things went well with Brom and that woman he figured to be garou. I've not seen anything on the news this morning, so that's good. And I hope Brom doesn't think that I cock-blocked him with Sadie.
I'm going to go back to work on that defensive charm I'm working on and node ley lines. Lay off the magick for a bit so I'll be fresh for when the moot happens this weekend. Brings-the-Pack is likely going to be making an appearance again, sharing and learning information with the sept. It's... liberating being able to speak with others without having to go through back channels who, in turn, have to obfuscate things if they're asked where they got their information from.
I really, really, really want to be rid of that ooze. And the denizens of the Queen's Tower. I hope this more open sharing of information might lead to some solutions or future courses of actions.
I gave Val a ring beforehand to let her know what was up and, since she could now go to the caern, suggested she might want a bird's eye view of the scene to share with others (including other Corax) later. (Better to feed the Corax the stories you'd prefer be spread as opposed to the stories it scrounges up.) So she showed up in time to catch the festivities.
Realizing that Thane was likely at the caern, I used the fire in the fireplace, which I'd transported from the fire pit at the caern, as a means of facilitating the connection between my cabin and the fire pit I so often frequent. Thane was there, so I manifested the cougar out in the woods to make the effect more coincidental--rather than having it emerge from the fire pit, which.... Yeah. Trying to look normalish and not freak out the Shadow Lord and new sept alpha if at all possible. But by the time I'd finished manifesting the Cougar and moving it back to the edge of the caern, Alicia'd shown up. Oh, well. I went ahead and announced myself.
Overall, I think the introduction went well, even after I identified myself as being an allied warper. (I love that term so much more than mage, even though it's used as an insult among the garou.) When asked for a name, I used Brings-the-Pack (the name I'd used when pretending to be a cougar back when I had that shapeshifting talisman--before I traded it away to get Salem healed). Thane asked for a reference to my claims of having been a sept ally for a long time, and I intentionally avoided dropping the names of garou (or corax) who knew me. Instead, I dropped one of the caern totems' names: Aahn. I frankly can't think of a better name drop. A caern totem knows me, will vouch for me, and kept my identity from the garou who've pledged to defend/protect the caern.
Mic drop.
That didn't seem to be enough for Alicia though, who kept demanding to know who I was and eventually blew up over my refusal to comply, and then that.... Yeah. It's reasons like this that I don't reveal who I am to the sept at large. She told Thane that he was on his own. I'm honestly stunned the Shadow Lord didn't knock her senseless on the spot over that, but I suspect it'd be tactically idiotic to start a fight among your own ranks when an outsider and potential threat is standing right there at the edge of the caern watching the whole thing. And Shadow Lords, from what I hear, are all about tactical advantages and biding their time. Alicia seems pissed at two people who she suspects knew me and didn't tell her about me. Jacinta, obviously, as I'd mentioned coming there that night as I'd learned of a leadership change for the sept and wanted to introduce myself and offer services to the new Alpha. Who's the other? I'll have to send a warning out to everyone who knows me. Let them know what happened in case Alicia blows up at one of them. (Slug, Val, Mouse, Emma, Salem, Jacinta, SIlvertip. Miss anyone local? Nope. Everyone else who knew has moved on or died.)
I had the cat-illusion walk back into the forest afterwards before disappearing. No need to let people know it was an illusion and not an a, but I was left with a new dilemma. I, as Nick, had access to the caern as a kinfolk, however Thane had not permitted Brings-the-Pack, the warper, to enter the caern proper. Can I go back to the caern as Nick? Good, lord. The ethics behind this is boggling. Can I go back as Nick and just not use any magick--not even the sensory stuff I use to look at and feel the ebb and flow of the caern's energies? Or can I just not re-enter the caern at all? Obviously, if I went as Nick and obeyed the latter, it'd look a bit weird if I hiked all the way out there only to not enter the caern itself like other kin could do. Especially at a moot. Ugh.
Goddammit, Nick. Where the fuck did you get this sense of honor from? It is so damn annoying. These rules are stupid. CHANGE THEM. IGNORE THEM. They're imposed by garou who are clueless. The caern totems are okay with me being there. Who the hell is ultimately in charge of a caern, anyhow?
So. Frustrating.
But I'm going to be respectful as they were there first. And you don't shit and piss on potential allies. Especially those who might share resources to everyone's benefit when there's a lot of ugly shit in town.
Yesterday I went and spent some time alone, shooting pool at the pool hall and nursing beers. Brom showed up and joined me, which then attracted the attention of a woman who'd been in the bar earlier. (He has claw scar marks. I imagine these tend to be giveaways for "seasoned" garou--and one of the reasons Salem was so concerned about someone who's heavily scarred yet looks like they might be thinking about growing a pubic hair soon might draw undue attention. (Here's hoping to Salem staying scar-free for a while.)
Sadie, a Walker kin, and Reggie, an Uktena ahroun (hauling in wares for the pool hall), showed up shortly thereafter. I managed to get a subtle Entropy/Spirit scan in on Risa, who did not ping as Wyrm tainted. (Of course, frustratingly, I could not share that information with anyone present.) And then I left to get Sadie out of there while Brom made introductions with Risa--and give Sadie contact info for both Reggie and Brom, in case she wanted to talk with either. I think Brom fancies her, but dear lord he'd probably break her in half. (Says the warper who accidentally caved in a fomori's skull, Nick. Remember that?)Gah. I feel dirty. I hope things went well with Brom and that woman he figured to be garou. I've not seen anything on the news this morning, so that's good. And I hope Brom doesn't think that I cock-blocked him with Sadie.
I'm going to go back to work on that defensive charm I'm working on and node ley lines. Lay off the magick for a bit so I'll be fresh for when the moot happens this weekend. Brings-the-Pack is likely going to be making an appearance again, sharing and learning information with the sept. It's... liberating being able to speak with others without having to go through back channels who, in turn, have to obfuscate things if they're asked where they got their information from.
I really, really, really want to be rid of that ooze. And the denizens of the Queen's Tower. I hope this more open sharing of information might lead to some solutions or future courses of actions.
