A Dance with Lunes: Bears, Banes, and Boars... WtF?!

Karlyn's garden is, to say the least, impressive and more then a bit excessive. Its more like a small forest full of rare plants (many of which shouldn't survive even a single year in Maine, but all of which seem to thrive none-the-less; probably do to some rite, gift, or other magic) and twisting trails wandering randomly past beds of blooming flowers, secret bowers, and trees full of secreted perches. Just the kind of place a cat would play around in for hours at a stretch. To further the appeal to such, it comes complete with several open places featuring smooth stones and surprisingly comfy benches all of which would serve well for sunning oneself on warm days. The center point of the garden is open, lined around the edges with the rarest flowers and dominated by a large silvery pond at its center.

Keelie had been told that roaming the garden was fine and safe while going elsewhere in town unescorted was likely not until Kar got in contact with the local Garou to earn her some form of recognition. That in and of itself was apparently causing him issues as he claimed to be uncertain whom he should speak to, going on about different Septs and perhaps having to simply speak to the Warder if the stupid bastard would ever answer his phone. Anyway, Kee accepted the restriction without too much complaint as she figured the garden was large enough that its exploration would keep her busy for at least a few hours; after which she figured she'd revisit her adherence to said restriction.

She wondered around the garden and eventually made her way to its heart, letting the perfectly trimmed and yet oddly wild seeming grass tickle her bare feet. She smelled the flowers, pausing to examine the foot long Rune Stones set into the ground around the garden. Running her fingers across the smooth engraving on one of the stones, she made a mental note to ask her cousin what each of them meant and then moved on forgetting about it just as quickly as the thought had come to her.

Curling her legs beneath her, she lazed upon one of the smooth, warm stones set at the edge of the lake. Staring down at its shiny, silver surface she found herself catching occasional glimpses of fish darting beneath the surface as the slight changes in light do to faint cloud cover caused shifts in her reflection. It was almost hypnotic and Kee quickly lost herself in gazing upon the waters...

The deep 'hurrumph' sound tore through her dazed state and caused her to whip around fast enough to send even an agile girl like her off-balance. She staggered to a half standing position spinning to find herself looking right into the eyes of a huge bear who's approach had somehow totally escaped her notice! With a squeaking shout of surprise and shock she stumbled back from the creature and fell right into the pond...

Keelie landed with a yelp as her butt impacted on the gleaming silver surface. She slid several feet across the slick metal as an odd disorientation seized her. She shook it off quickly and twisted into a crouch to stare back at the bear, figuring it was coming for her. Instead it remained where it was and it was... twisting and slowly changing.

The girl sighed, "I am such a bloody twit sometimes. Karlyn said it was safe. That must be a werewolf that turns into a bear just like Kar turns into a cat."

With a snorting laugh she stood, having regained her composure and her balance with it. She took a step toward the transforming bear starting to speak but then pausing...

'Why is he so transparent?' She thought to herself.

Before she could come up with an answer to her own question, they were upon her!

Half a dozen small silver forms, like ribbons of light, spun and twirled about her. They twisted through her hair and ran across her skin, but instead of feeling creepy, it struck her more like the greeting of a friendly and playful cat might give someone it knew and liked.

Kee forgot all about the werewolf-bear (who by then had assumed the form of a large man) and didn't even notice that he was calling out to her. A silvery streak, vaguely foxlike and a fair bit larger then her other 'new friends' (as she was already thinking of them) streaked in to take a turn twisting and twining about her.

With a joy-filled laugh, Kee took a couple quick steps and slung herself into a standing slide across the silver surface with the Lunes frolicking about her. After a couple of slides, she went dancing about the clearing and then off into the garden accompanied by the Lunes, intent on examining what was to be found in this odd new world. Some of the Lunes left and other took their place, and other (non-Lune) spirits popped up to gaze at her as she danced.

The werewolf-bear man gave a worried look and seemed to concentrate for a moment before getting an aggravated look on his face and cursing in old-Celtic. With a stomp of a foot he turned and headed out of the garden toward the main house at a shambling run.

On Keelie went, skipping happily to the edge of the property and beyond. Talking amiably to the little spirits about the oddities of the world in which she found herself. Though, she really didn't consciously understand their whispering bell-like melodies of response, she got the feeling that they were friendly and responding to her comments and that was more then enough for her. She did pick up from their responses a couple things that seemed clear despite the oddity of their 'speech'. She got the word 'Umbra' which she figured was the name of the place she was now in and the sense that they believed it was more 'pure' and 'better' then the human world.

Soon, without realizing or even caring since warnings and restrictions were never something Keelie cared about, she was a goodly way beyond Kar's property. Passing the boundary that surrounded it like a faintly glowing bubble had been an odd sensation, but the feeling she got from the Lunes gave her the sense that such was nothing to even be considered, so she ignored it.

The farther away she got, the more other spirits started flitting about to get a look at her and what was going on... apparently they were just curious (so, being the sort to assume whatever she believes must be the truth, she simply decided all spirits were inquisitive and basically friendly).

After a short time a spirit of a different sort then her little friends, actually approached her directly. It was a large black raccoon, its mask and markings bright neon red. Keelie knelt down so she was closer to its size, telling it that its glowing mask was really pretty, and offered her hand out like one might to a dog. The 'Coon spirit cocked its head to the side and raised one eye as if to say, "Really?!". Then it seemed to shrug and made a sound that was vaguely sigh-like. It gave her hand a quick sniff (apparently willing to play along with her assumptions) and allowed her to give it a couple pats before chittering and sauntering off, its curiosity sated.

Thrilled with her 'new world', Kee continued on, exploring and offering greetings to any spirit she saw, often pausing to pet or otherwise interact with any who seemed to wish to get a closer look at her; but, after every such incident she spent several moments interacting with her silver companions, making sure they realized that they were indeed her favorites.

After a time the thought of, 'I should probably get home soon,' ran through her mind. But, it was just as quickly lost as she saw something that was a good bit different then anything she'd seen thus far on her journey...

It was likely a normal building in the real world, but in her new world it was sort of like a cave leading into a building instead of a normal entrance. It looked to be forged of darkness and shadows and for some reason that escaped her, none of the spirits went near it.

"What is that?" She ask drawing a string of responses from the Lunes. The impression those responses gave was one of 'danger, stay away' and yet it was almost as if she couldn't resist the place. She had to get a closer look despite the agitation each step caused her little friends.

About fifteen feet from the cave Kee realized her silver companions had stopped and drawn back. She turned to glance at them and said, "It's ok guys, its just a building."

Turning back to the cave she licked her lips and took another step toward the cave...

The spirit came out of the cave in a rush, scaring Kee enough that she stumbled back and almost fell!

Raising her hands in front of herself in a 'stop' motion. Despite its horrible visage and the feeling of dread that befell her when she gazed upon it, she spoke softly to the spirit as she had each one she'd met thus far, "Woah, its ok my big scary friend. I am Keelie Keena niKaillech and you can call me Kee. I don't want to hurt you. I like you uh... spirits I think is the term right? So, we can all be friends right?"

The massive bane paused, blinked, and responded in a growling roar of a voice that Keelie understood clearly, "No cub. We can't be friends. I want to hurt you and I shall call you dinner as I feast on the Gnosis I tear from your body! You deserve this fate foolish cub, wandering here alone with nothing more then a few pathetic Lunes as company! I am the Tásúil mHarú and you are now mine!"

Kee's mouth fell open and it took her a moment to say anything, though even then she wasn't overly coherent, "Uh... uhm... I... we... but... Nut-uh!"

The creature lunged at her and she leapt backwards barely avoiding several of its mouths as they snapped at her!

While Keelie was certainly naive, she wasn't a total moron, and faced with a creature such as that which intended, by its own clearly stated promise, to eat her, she gave up on making friends and quickly considered the options of fight and flight. Again, being something other then stupid, she chose the latter and turned to flee...

She made it about three steps before one of the mouths clamped down on her calf ripping into her and sending her tumbling to the ground with pain shooting through her body from her injured leg!

Rolling to her back, Keelie raised her hands in a futile defensive gesture as the bane leapt upon her. It planted one huge arm one either side of the slight girl and lowered it's massive center mouth toward her, a torrent of drool cascading down upon her.

Oddly enough, it was that which offended her the most, "Hey! Eat me if you have to but quit fucking drooling on me you sick bitch!"

Tthe Tásúil mHarú laughed in malicious glee as Kee suddenly screamed with a new surprising pain, realizing a bit late that where the saliva met her flesh it burned and sparked threatening to catch her aflame. She reached out for that power she had felt before, hoping to shift and have a chance against the beast, but it wasn't there... or she couldn't reach it... either way, she was stuck in her human shape!

Kicking at the bane, she scooted on her back across the ground trying to push herself back enough that she might have a chance to get up and flee. The creature merely laughed and casually lumbered forward staying over her.

And then salvation came in the form of the fox-shaped lune. It leapt in at the bane chiming a melody that somehow conveyed its outrage as clearly as any words! More out of surprise then fear or pain the Tásúil mHarú reared and took a couple steps back as the little lune laid into it.

Kee took the chance and pushed herself to her feet and into a stumbling half-run, her injured calf hampering her but not to a debilitating extent. She caught a glimpse of people running in her direction but all consideration for such fled her mind in an instant when a discordant chime sounded from behind her... it registered pain and terror in her mind and she halted instantly, spinning back toward the bane.

Her fox-lune friend lay on the ground with whisps of silvery-green light floating off its body. Even someone as half-trained as Keelie was could tell that it was horribly hurt and the Tásúil mHarú hovered over it, glaring at her, "First I eat your Lune! Then I eat you!"

Before the first sentence was fully out of the creature's mouth, the power she had failed to find earlier surged within her and the change came. With a howl that sounded more like a roar, she flung herself at her tormentor. Keelie called up all of her Rage and delivered a single powerful stoke to the creature with her claws...

In a perfect, fairy tail world the blow would have slain the creature in spectacular fashion; unfortunately, reality rarely follows such dramatic rules, and while the strike did wound the bane it came nowhere close to killing it or even more then vaguely annoying it.

Her rage spent, Kee rapidly shrank back down into her natural form and the Tásúil mHarú cackled in its multi-throated voice, "That's all?! That pathetic display is the best you have little pup?"

Its laughter quickly turned to shock and pain as a crinos werewolf marked with glowing azure designs leapt over the girl, slashing deep across the the bane's body with a shining silver blade that left a wound blazing with fire as azure as his runic markings. The bane reared back and screeched, flailing at the garou with one big arm. The blow caught the klaive wielder in the flank and sent him tumbling but even as he rolled to his feet he was replaced, by another war-form pouncing on the bane. This one was... not a wolf... he looked more like a boar and struck the creature in the 'head' with a morningstar that crackled with green energy.

The bane staggered back with emerald lightning playing across it's form and shook itself readying to attack once more. Before it could, yet another creature joined the fray. This combatant was a war-form bear and struck with a huge maul! He delivered a hit that drove the Tásúil mHarú stumbling back several yards with part of its spirit essence trailing the hammer's arc like blood from a vicious wound. The bearman was marked with azure symbols just like the other two.

Apparently, this was enough for the creature and it turned and fled moving with a rapidity that belied its size. The garou moved to give chance but the bear stopped him by barring his path with his hammer and grunting out a barely intelligible, "Hunt later. Girl now."

The three shifted to their smaller human forms, though all three still towered over Kee by a couple feet. For her part, Keelie only paid the men slight attention instead rushing over to fall to her knees by the fox-lune, picking up the injured spirit and cradling it in her arms while whispering softly to it.

The werebear spoke in a gentle voice, "Hello girl. I'm sorry I scared you back there, I had forgotten your cousin said he had a new cub running about his place. I am Miach and my companions are Cian and Gann."

Cian, the one who looked like a wereboar of all things, snorted in a much harsher tone, "Don't apologize to the fool cub, it shouldn't have been so stupid and cowardly. Just as it shouldn't have been running from that bane like a scared child!"

Gann the wolf laughed gently, "She isn't an it but she is a child Cian. That is what a cub is after all."

Keelie fleetingly glanced up at the three and muttered, "Its ok Mister Miach and thank you for coming here."

She turned her attention back to her little friend. Silvery-green light began to flow from her chest into the little lune while the three men continued to talk...

"And there is a difference between cowardice and wisdom my boorish friend," Miach intoned. "The latter is knowing to flee when facing a foe who is well outside your ability to fight. And, that wasn't a mere bane. It was something far more dangerous though I'm not sure what exactly..."

Gann cut in with, "And how can you deem her cowardly when she turned back to attack it?"

"Bah, it only did that to protect the spirit! And who would bother to protect a damn lune anyway. That just shows it to be sentimental as well as cowardly and stupid!" Came Cian's scornful reply.

Miach gave a soft growl from deep in his chest, "No Cian! That is nonsense and you know it. Fighting to protect one you consider a friend, no matter its nature, against a foe you know will surely kill you is as far from cowardice as one can come. Nor is it stupid or sentimental, if anything it is a noble deed. Why must you be so capriciously pugnacious and disdainfully supercilious toward the girl?"

Cian harumphed and said with a feigned southern accent, "Quit it with them there big words. You know I don't be reckoning what the explanation of them is."

Miach laughed lightly, "Yes my old friend, I know that well. Come now girl that is quite enough. It would be very bad for you to feed all of your Gnosis to her. She's had enough to be fine now."

To give truth to the man's words, the lune floated up out of Keelie's hands and whisked around her thrice brushing against her all the way and then flashed off to join it's fellows watching from a safe distance. Pushing herself to her feet, still favoring her only partially healed leg, she finally turned her full attention to the men.

"Thank you again for coming for me. I'm sorry I got scared, I hadn't stopped to think that maybe there would be werewolves that turned into different animals. Haha, stupid me. I am Keelie by the way... if you wanna use my name instead of calling me girl."

"Of course," Miach said with a nod dropping to one knee to be more akin to her height. "Let me have a look at that leg Keelie and I am not a werewolf. I am a Gurahl or werebear if you must."

She turned around and thrust her leg out backward to him, "Oh. Cool. OHHHH!"

The last came as a surprised shout along with a jerk of her leg as a cool sensation twisted through the wound quickly followed by faint warmth. Miach released her leg before standing and asking, "There, all better now lass?"

"Yes. Wow. That's like magic healing right? That's really useful."

Keelie tested the healed leg with a nod and then glanced again at the other two, "So you are a werewolf... or... uh... garou... right Mister Gann? And, I'm sorry Mister Cian, but I don't know what the special name for a werepig is..."

Cian's eyes went wide, "PIG? PIG? I am a..."

A belly laugh took Gann at his friend's indignation and Miach gave another of his kind, gentle laughs.

"Keelie, he is a wereboar. Pig is somewhat unflattering. They are called Grondr... though, you likely shouldn't mention having seen him, or for that matter any of us, as his kind are extinct in the minds of most and we three would prefer our visits to Silver Harbor and your cousin remain our own business."

"Oh. Sorry Mister Cian. I'll keep it secret I promise."

"Sorry? You should be sorry calling me..." Cian began not seeming overly mollified, but before he could get too much out Gann cut him off with another booming laugh.

"Enough, we should be getting back to Karlyn's. And quickly ere Cian falls even more deeply in love with Keelie here."

Cian sputtered at the wolf, "What! I am not..."

"He's right about the getting back if not the rest. We need to go now," Miach's words seemed to carry an air of rarely used authority and Cian stopped sputtering and resorted to simply glaring and frowning at Gann and Keelie in turn.

And so Keelie made her way home trailed by a gaggle of lunes and in the company of all three of the legendary Laochra na Cinniúint, though she simply knew them as three kind (or, at least semi-kind in Cian's case) men who'd come to her aid and who were 'associates' of her cousin.

At Karlyn's they stepped back out of the Umbra and seemingly out of the lake (though it took a bit of coaching and guidance from Gann before Keelie could manage the feat).

They were met by the Bastet immediately upon entering the manor. He gave a slight frown and a raised eyebrow and then said, "Kee, why don't you go on up to your room and get cleaned up and changed. I have some business with these three and then we'll have a bit of a talk."

Keelie, actually looking a tiny bit abashed, though that might merely have been pending exhaustion from the day's escapade, climbed the stairs to her room without complaint. She had time for a leisurely shower with enough left over for her to half fall asleep before her cousin tapped at her door.

She sat up in bed as he pushed the door open and said, almost sheepishly, "Am I in trouble for wandering off Kar?"

The bastet laughed with obvious and real humor, "Of course not. Why would you be? You're not some dog to sit and stay when you're told are you?"

She shook her head and he continued, "Though I am going to ask why you went wandering into the den of a wyrm. It's not too wise a thing to do after all."

She licked her lips and said, "Uh... well... ya know... I kind of wondered what was there and wanted to see."

"Ah. Curiosity. Haha. Guess you really are related to me. Though, that can get you killed. Of course, had it been me at your age, I would surely have done likewise... unless a sunny-spot caught me first."

They continued to talk for a time and he spoke a bit of the three men and of the Tásúil mHarú which he told her was powerful, mean, and fairly new to the area. So new in fact that neither sept (or anyone else except him at least to his knowledge) knew of its presence...

"So why haven't you told the Garou?"

"They haven't traded for that secret... why would I give it away for free? If they ask for it, I'm sure we could come to a fair trade. That is part of what I do after all. And, you should be wary for it will likely be hunting you now, especially since it tasted you... though, it's not exactly the same type of wounding in the Umbra I don't believe... but, whatever."

"Ah. I see, I guess, and I will."

He smiled, "Good. Now youngling, I think you'd best get some rest so that you will be fresh and ready to throw yourself haphazardly into whatever pointless chaos you can find to unleash on the poor, unsuspecting world tomorrow, yes."

She nodded, "Ok. Night-Night Karly."

As he turned to leave she called out, "Hey, Kar... I like your friends. They're nice. Even Cian though he pretends to be all mean and uh... arguey and stuff."

Karlyn snorted, "That's good... remember not to mention them to anyone... and I am not overly sure that he is pretending. Rest well kitten."

With that, he flipped off her light and shut the door, and Keelie drifted rapidly off to sleep.

Her young mind let the warning of a nasty beast she'd only escaped do to the arrival of unexpected allies flee from her thoughts and fade to a forgotten memory within the moments.

Such is often the blessing, or more likely the curse, of the young and careless and it is something that often returns to bite their asses or other parts of their anatomy at later dates...

Postscript...

Pictures and some notes on the three and on the big nasty bane are available on the chronicle's website.