In the Mountains: Den-Realm(#4050RJ$) By the Waterfall The roar and crash of falling water fills the air. Spilling down from a height of fifteen feet, the cold mountain water is churned into white froth on the rocks below. The air is heady with the smell of fresh water, wet rock, and damp earth. Heady, too, with the smell of greenery during the warm season, sharp with snow and frost during the cold months. But the water never freezes. The violence of the waterfall's action is too strong for the biting temperatures. (+views set) The land rises up in a climb of slippery rocks to the apex of the waterfall. Following the river's flow downstream, the watery thunder becomes quiet, the churning activity less. Trees surround the area, reaching tall into the sky. There is no sign of humanity or humanity's doings, anywhere. Obvious exits: Rocky Path Alexander escorts the Alpha to the edge of the Bastet's territory and gives three short howls, which are answered by a couple of feline screams in the distance. Only then does the Guardian lead Brian to what is, apparently, a common meeting place. Brian wears his klaive openly, but keeps his hands thrust into his coat pockets as he waits in the cold. Bianca drops down from a tree, feet hitting the earth with a slight thump. She exchanges a glance with Alexander, who nods and heads off to give the pair some privacy. Then she turns toward Brian, head slightly tilted. "Hi." Brian looks the woman up and down for a few moments, then pulls his hands from his coat pockets and folds his arms across his chest, as much to keep warm as anything. "So you're her." Bianca grins crookedly, hands stuffed deep into her pockets. "And you're him." Brian lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "More or less, yeah," he says. "I'm Brian." To one familiar with the Garou, he's certainly laconic for a Fianna; he extends a hand as if to shake. Bianca takes the offered hand, grasping it firmly, head tilted to smile up at the Garou. "Bianca." He releases his hand after a moment and steps back, arms folding across her chest. "'Lex mentioned your folks have some concerns." "'Lex," Brian says quietly, musingly, with a hint of a smirk. This moment of jocularity fades abruptly, though and he nods in answer to the statement. "I don't see why we should be letting you put up your little fort up here, Cougar's blessing aside. So I'm here to give you a chance to convince me." Bianca raises an eyebrow. "'My little fort'?" Her expression turns wry. "And a chance to convince you, too. Difficult, since I'm not sure what the problem really is." Her manner is pleasant, even friendly. "This area isn't claimed by your people. It's not even patrolled very much -- if at all." Brian shrugs his shoulders. "Some of the wolf-kin range out this far, so the Red Talons do too. But that's not really the point. I'm asking you why. 'Why not' is a fair answer, but not a very satisfying one." Bianca's casual manner fades; underneath it, her eyes are serious and somber. "'Most planets are quarries,'" she replies, as though quoting. "'Earth is precious.'" Brian wrinkles his nose slightly. "Why'd you do this to this place, anyways? What good is it for you?" Bianca sighs. "Look at it this way. You have a pack, right?" "Yes," Brian answers, at once suspicious and defensive. Bianca says, "They're your family, right? You felt lost before you had a pack, and without them you wouldn't be yourself. Your soul is in that pack... in your totem. Right?" There's a certain amount of truth to everything that Bianca says, and it's reflected in Brian's features. He nods slowly. Bianca lays a hand on the tree next to her. "And this is part of mine. The Rite of Claiming can only be done /once/ in all a Bastet's life. We don't do it lightly. And true wilderness is rare these days." There's an honesty in her words an expression. "This land is part of myself now. Nothing will harm it. No one will taint it, not while I live." Brian's expression hardens slightly, and his next question bares a hint of accusation. "But why *here*? Of all the places in the world, why was it so important for you to set up your little fort fifteen miles away from us? What do you have going on up here that you need to be so close to the Wheel?" Bianca rubs the back of her neck. "I've been over most of this continent since I was sixteen or so, looking for a home," she says at last, looking up at him. Her tone is candid. "I don't really care much for cities, and I'd rather not deal with humans every day. Unfortunately, there isn't much left in the way of wilderness." She lets her arm drop, pushing her hands back into her pockets. "Your guardians assured me that my presence was needed somehow, and that the place I picked was far enough away that it wouldn't interfere with you." No tone of accusation, not even enforced calm. Neither does she seem to be pulling some kind of superiority attitude. "I don't intend your Sept harm. I don't plan on hunting down your caern or interfering with your pups. I ask little more than to be left alone, and a little neighborly courtesy, since I think it'd make everyone's life easier, especially my own." This last is delivered with the hint of a self-depreciating grin. "But I'm not really sure how to 'convince' you. Do you want a pledge? Some kind of oath?" Brian glances down and to one side, a look of faint disgust reaching his features. "The boys probably got carried away," he sighs. "Here's the deal. The caern -- the Wheel -- has three totem spirits. One of them's Cougar. Cerberus follows Cougar for their pack totem. And they naturally think she's the best thing since the invention of the wheel, and wouldn't steer them wrong, no way, no how." Slowly, almost reluctantly, he looks back towards Bianca and meets her eyes. "Cougar was lost to the Wheel for a long time. So she and the boys come up with this idea to 'make her influence stronger', whatever the hell that means. So they dragged in a bunch of Cougar spirits, and you." Bianca wrinkles her nods slightly and nods, leaning against a tree. "Lex said it was something like that. Silly me, I assumed they'd gotten approval or something." She exhales. "I wasn't lying when I said I can only do this ritual once, and that this bit of land means as much to me as part of my own self. I can't just pick up and move on, y'see." She pushes her glasses up her nose. "We can come to some kind of understanding, maybe?" Brian lifts his shoulder in a shrug. "They said they'd be trying to bring a Bastet back with them. I figured they'd give me a heads-up if they really did, and again if she started making a nest." Bianca gestures vaguely. "Mixed signals. Lovely." It is after a few minutes of silent thought that Brian runs a hand back through his hair; absently, he flips the hem of his coat over his sheathed klaive, concealing the weapon beneath heavy fabric. "I'm a full moon," he says. "Which means I don't have any way or talent at figuring out whether you're telling the truth or making this whole thing up. What I do know is that the few other Bete I've run into have preferred to work for their own interests, or against us, rather than try to cooperate with us. The *Mages* I've known have been more trustworthy and cooperative. I'd love to believe you're different than the rest. But I've got a lot of prejudice built up." He pauses there, then confesses, "The one thing you do have going for you is that I can afford to take you at face value for at least the time being. I've got nearly a hundred Garou down there. I'm sure I could find at least ten who'd be willing to risk Cougar's curse by coming up here and either chasing you away or killing you. So if you really do want to live and let live, then let's experiment with it for a while. Just keep in mind that you've got nervous neighbors who carry a big stick." Bianca smiles wryly, her body uncoiling from its tension. "More than fair." Again, Brian runs a hand back through his hair; it might strike Bianca that this is a mannerism born from nervousness or discomfort. "I'm not usually this much of an asshole," he mutters next. "This just came at a bad time. We've got at least two other problems in the Shadow around here." Bianca watches the Irishman with a frankness in her brown eyes, not unfriendly. "Understandable." Brian lifts his shoulders in an uncomfortable shrug and stuffs his hands back into his pockets. "I guess I'll head back, now, and leave you to whatever it is that you do up here." Bianca smiles, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "Walk safe."