I am not sure which is worse. Trapped in a nightmare through the long dark moon, screaming myself hoarse, unable to wake till the sun rises, to find myself soaked in sweat and shaking so badly that I can't even crawl to the bathroom. Or now, in a strange house full of strangers, most of whom are suddenly going through their first shift with what... a vampire, a cat (me) and one wolf shifter that may not even be able to shift as their guides.
Marchettus seems startled, not expecting more than just one of them to shift. He speaks of cages out back and in the basement. This is so not how Fahr and his Silent Striders handle a new shift. Although... shifts among them never all happened on the same night!! I have been there for some of those. They can be destructively messy with just one shifting. But with... 4... FOUR!!
I waste no time. I grab the young girl over my shoulder. I am sure I can handle her in a first shift. Less sure I could handle others, let alone a lupus... I don't even know where to begin with... that. Patrick is handling Sophia who is a snaring mass of hate for Marchettus right now. We get these two out back. A glance over my shoulder and I see Marchettus coaxing Aurora to the basement and Moon... part bear? WTF!? manhandling Jeff to the basement. I can't believe I am giving in to the use of a cage for a first shift.
I can understand some of the distress. I remember my first shift and the panic. I am grateful Kira is not panicking. I talk reassuringly to her to help keep her calm. I try hard to ignore the insane cussing from Sophia. In her crinos form now and she can hardly sound coherent. I almost want to laugh, but I doubt that would go over well. us cats... when we shift, we shift all the way over then have to get walked back through the shifts. These wolves, they go half way into a war form far too high on adrenalin.
I open the cage for Kira and wrap a blanket over her naked crinos form. She'll be a naked little girl when she gets shifted back. I wonder how things are going in the basement. I am curious and want to check. I have never seen a lupus in first shift and honestly didn't really think that sort of thing ever happened. Also... honestly thought first shifts happened between ages 10 and 30. What went wrong with Sophia? I stay put with Kira, klaive across my lap and wait...
I try to block out Sophia screaming and snarling like a wolf gone insane every time she sees Marchettus. I hope she calms down soon.
The klaive on my lap has changed its symbols just as the door opens again and Aurora stumbles out to sit with Patrick. Amazing how she is still sweet tempered, even in this form that confuses her so. My klaive has spoken... so to speak. Ugh... did I just think that bad sentence? It displays 5 new symbols that translate to tribe names: Silver Fang, Shadow Lord, Get of Fenris, Black Fury, and Bone Gnawer. I can guess that these are for those wolves among us. It left me and Moon out. Well, we are not wolves. I try not to be insulted. You could at least put ME there since i am taking care of you and delivering you one day to who you need to go to. My thoughts of course are ignored beyond the vague auric sense that the klaive is once again laughing at me.
It takes hours for everyone to be stable and think, wrapped in blankets, they all sit awkwardly in the livingroom of the Pr... Sanctuary (yes, I refuse to call it the privy!). In crinos, everyone's scents are stronger. I try to think who... uhm... which tribe each of these new shifters might be from, based off what my klaive told me. My knowledge of the tribes is very limited. I know Silent Striders, Fianna, and you can't NOT know Silver Fang. I can guess that Aurora is Silver Fang. They have presence and a certain coloring that is very distinct. And look at that! The Get of Fenris really do mark their own! Jeff has a great big tribe marker on his back that says Get of Fenris. HA! *ehem* I know Patrick is Bone Gnawer now. That leaves Shadow Lord and Black Fury tibes. Kira and Sophia could be either. I really don't know enough about them to know how to tell them apart.
Patrick... being the only garou of experience here gets essentially made pack leader for the moment. He glares at Marchettus for setting him up. I know that feeling. He begins a long explanation of the tribes. There were 14 tribes once. One is now extinct. And there are the Black Spiral Dancers. tension rolls up my spine at their mention and I interject a quick bit about that.
The introductory lessons for the night move on to learning how to shift. I didn't think Patrick would be able to shift. And Moon... is definitely a bear shifter. he can even shift just one small part of himself. I am not sure I can do that. Never really thought about it. Suddenly I consider all sorts of interesting possibilities. I will have to practice on my own. And no... I still do not shift for them either. At least not till Moon has gone off to sleep on the sofa to Patrick's voice. envy that guy for being able to just sleep anywhere and through anything comfortably. Patrick... actually can shift after all. He's remarkably quite good at it. Apparently he's been able to do that since birth. Thus, he has no real clue how to teach another about how. It becomes painful to listen to the attempt. After an hour, I can't stand it any more and offer to help. he can explain garou basics. I can teach shifting. Hi everyone... please welcome the yet again token kitty. At least my gentle patience and care get everyone through their various shifting forms and help them understand and control them.
The next step... dedicating clothing so these poor folks are not stuck being naked all the time. That is totally embarrassing. To my surprise, Jeff seems to have blood memory of this rite too! How does that happen? What else does he just... know? Maybe I can learn a new rite? Maybe... later... much later. He and I spend the night dedicating clothing. Just the simple dedication that allows all items to be absorbed when you shift forms. When they are ready, accept what they are, and decide on items they want accessible in their early forms: Homid (human), Glabro (near-human), and Crinos (half-half war form). I could make some things stay through all the forms, like a pendant or something simple.
Crap... why am I thinking long-term with these people?
And all I wanted was a short stay, under the radar, a get-away to lay low for a few days till I figured out what my next move was.
No comments:
Post a Comment