[March 19. 1997]

August picks his way carefully down a short slope, keeping his balance despite 
  a large duffelbag slung across his back and one arm shoved into his pocket. 
  He looks behind him, sets down the duffelbag, and shifts.
August contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
August shifts into Lupus form.
Sixth senses are tingling; there's something /special/ about the land August 
  is on. Not quite a caern, but... special. Owned.
August peeks around again as if making sure there are no witnesses, then tilts 
  back his muzzle and howls. Cat-heart, cat-spirit, friend of my teacher; I 
  come with respect, with proper chiminage, for the respect she bears you and 
  the wisdom I might learn. (It sounds rehearsed--*very* rehearsed.)
Time goes by, time enough for a nervous cub to get fidgety and nervous. Then a 
  thump behind him as a humanoid figure drops out of a tree.
August spins, tentacle draped protectively over the bag until he can make out 
  who he's facing, posture of tail and ears making it very, very clear that he 
  doesn't perceive himself as in control of the situation.

Currently the moon is in the waxing Gibbous Moon phase (73% full).
It is currently 19:05 Pacific Time on Wed Mar 19 1997.

Bianca steps out into a patch of gibbous moonlight, eyeing the strange wolf 
  curiously, head tilted. "Fire, in the form of mist, took a cub and sent him 
  to the water. But the cub, being fire as well, was afraid. Truth?"
August blinks, disconcerted as much by the fact that this over-his-head 
  feeling is very familiar as by anything else. Cautiously, he tips his head 
  in assent-- It would be natural for Fire to fear Water.
Bianca gets a wry expression, understanding the assent but nothing else. 
  "Alas," she says, lightly. "Fire and water met, but couldn't speak to each 
  other until they decided to shine with the same light." She chuckles, 
  temporarily tossing off the riddling cloak. "Shift to manform and follow me, 
  kiddo. You must be August."
August lets out a happy sigh and grows taller.
August contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
August shifts into Homid form.
August scratches the back of his neck and nods towards the bag with a smile. 
  "Um...brought you something. F'courtesy sake."
Bianca grins. "Bring it." She sets off through the trees.
August shoulders the bag and sets off, much more jauntily than his walk a 
  moment ago.
Bianca slows just enough to let the young Stargazer catch up. "Mine's Bianca, 
  by the way. Tailkinker, but don't be too worried about that." She glances 
  over and winnks. "How's Nanny doing?"
August smiles a little. "Met some Gnawers in Spokane who sang a drinking song 
  that was about her back when she was a Novice--could hardly eat or drink she 
  was grinnin' so hard. Y'can call me August."
Bianca nods. "A good name for a cub of Fire, yeah," she says, cheerfully.
August hrms. "Nanny called me Aug; or Kid, sometimes. Y'can do either of 
  those, if you'd like. Or something completely different, for that 
  matter...s'likely I'll figure out who you're talkin' to."
Bianca chuckles and steers sideways, bumping into the tall Garou lightly. She 
  drops down a slight rise and vanishes into an opening in the rocks.

You crouch down to slip through the low opening between the rocks.
In the Mountains -- Cougar Cave(#3396RA)
Dim, warm, and cozy, this cave of earth and rock is large enough to be 
  comfortable and yet small enough to feel secure. Light filters in dimly from 
  the outside passageway, which slopes downward and to the right; the main 
  part of the den is elevated, protected from wind and rain. The rounded walls 
  and low ceiling are still rough rock, but the floor is covered with earth 
  and feline hairs. At the far end, shoved into an alcove, is a heavy-duty 
  plastic garbage bag. The blocky nature of the bag's contents suggests that 
  it's partially filled with paperback books.
The air is warm, usually, and smells very strongly of cougar. There's also the 
  scent of burned herbs around, catnip and marijuana.
Obvious exits:
Out  

August enters the small, sandy-floored cave.
August has arrived.
August tilts his nose a little higher, scenting the air appreciatively. "This 
  is *nice*."
Bianca settles crosslegged on the floor of the cave, smiling. "It's home. Make 
  yourself comfortable."
August sets his duffel down and folds himself into a comfortable seat beside 
  it. He leans back on his arms, eyeing everything curiously.
Bianca's eye falls on the duffle, all curiosity. "Mm. And what does fire bring 
  to honor water?"
August unzips the bag and rummages a little. "When Fire and, um, 
  Fire-in-the-form-of-Mist were in the And...were at the Stairs of Stone, Mist 
  harvested this;" he removes a plastic bag full of dried catnip, slightly 
  broader-leafed than the norm, "and earned this at a dance." He unwraps 
  layers of paper towel to reveal an obsidian jaguar the length of one's 
  finger, carved in a style no one has used for centuries. "The first she felt 
  you'd enjoy; the second she felt none but Water deserved. And you're her 
  favorite. Um. Body of Water."
Bianca leans forward, her eyes alight with humor and interest. She grins 
  broadly at the catnip and oohs over the figurine. "And the water met the 
  fire in peace, and more than peace." She smiles.
August relaxes muscles he didn't realize were tense. "And the fire found the 
  water better company than some of the flames he had known."
Bianca cradles the carved jaguar in her hands, carefully. She glances up and 
  gives August a wry grin. "Because, as the mist and the water both knew, 
  sometimes hot and dry is kin to cold and wet."
August smiles. "Of course--any soap opera can tell you that the biggest 
  problems occur within a family."
Bianca laughs softly and leans back. "Tell me more about yourself," she 
  invites.
August raises two large eyebrows. "Um...I've been with Nanny for three years, 
  learning to follow her path. Um. If you need anything fixed, I'm handy with 
  that." He pauses and looks around. "Um, not that you seem to."
Bianca grins and wriggles the fingers of her free hand at him. "Deeper. Fire 
  reaches upwards, dancing everywhere, but water lives in the most secret 
  parts of Earth Mother."
August looks a little befuddled. (Again.) "Wellll...hm. Okay. I have voices. 
  In my head. Some are upset, some are always giving advice, some are quiet 
  unless I see a place, or a thing, or a person that they recognize and then 
  they get all excited. When I dream...I never really know whose dream it is? 
  If that makes sense?"
Bianca nods. "Go on."
August bites his lower lip. "I...I'm taught, it is taught, that each Garou is 
  a trinity; Mind, who walks on two legs, Rage, two legs and tail, and Spirit, 
  who walks on four. And that to be truly at peace with yourself, you must 
  make the three as one, so that Mind stands over Rage and Spirit, who comes 
  from Gaia the greater Spirit, guides Mind."
August shakes his head. "I...am not very good at this."
Bianca turns the jaguar figure over in her hands, thoughtfully. "A young wolf 
  goes out in his hunger, but catches no rabbits. He goes out again, and 
  catches no hares. But the next day he goes out with another wolf, and 
  together they bring down a deer, and feast." She smiles. "It's like anything 
  else," she says, kindly. "It takes practice, and time."