World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - A Sanctuary, Safe and Strong

[SalmonMax]

Triessa's battered old 1978 Ford pickup rattled and rumbled as it ambled up Lopez Canyon Road, into the outskirts of Angeles National Forest. Once upon a time it had been cherry red, an American muscle car masquerading as a utility vehicle. Those days were long gone though. Its coat was dulled by exposure to sun and rain, and eaten through in patches where the metal had then rusted. It was as far from green as you could get without driving a car that was fueled by burning coal, but Triessa couldn't afford anything fancier at the moment. And it had a weird kind of gravitas, this truck. Like your crazy great-uncle who fought in World War 1, and was openly, embarrassingly racist...but had seen so much and lived through so much that you couldn't help respecting him even though he sometimes needed DePends.

It was in no shape, however, to follow the narrow, winding dirt road off to the right when a sign caught her eye. There was a cleared area on the other side of the road that she pulled into. It was probably going to be made into a small parking lot anyway, by the look of it. She got her stuff out and darted across the road to read again the humble sign that had three words that had piqued Triessa's interest so.

KAGEL WOLF SANCTUARY

Triessa hadn't learned any Fate magic before leaving her mentor behind, but like any mage, she knew Fate was real. It hovered in the grey area between random chance, synchronicity and intelligent design. Something seemed to guide events. Not exactly a 'presence' or an 'intelligence,' but definitely a pattern that could be...at times...predicted. And Fate was all about patterns. A word you hear over and over again, from different sources, apparently at random. A picture of someone. A series of numbers. When things started to repeat, it was a sure sign that Fate 'wanted' something from you.

For Triessa, it was wolves. She'd never thought much about them before, but since coming to LA she'd been inundated with wolf-related experiences. Wolf buckles, wolf necklaces, werewolves, wolf spirits...so when she saw, in her path, a sign advertising a 'wolf sanctuary,' she decided that this was probably the moment Fate had been preparing her for. Follow THIS path, it was saying. You've had your hints, now make the right decision.

She walked along the narrow winding trail, past a small empty hut that would one day perhaps hold a guard to usher people through, or close a gate and keep people out. Now it was just an invitation to pry further.

The mage went along the winding path, under the ancient boughs of a primordial forest, to the Wolf Sanctuary...alert for what Fate was guiding her to.

[z-August Turner]

August was almost a-quiver with excitement. Kagel Wolf Sanctuary had long been working to open their doors. They'd faced opposition from all over, including from their neighbors, the county and even PETA. But Grace Nolan, the vision behind Kagel's, had persisted. She'd raised money, endured the hate and bitter animosity, and kept fighting for the wolves. It had finally paid off, and today was Kagel's first open house since they had received their first wolf.

August was proud of Grace; they were only acquaintances but August had followed the fight for Kagel's. It had always pained August that she had so little money; she had given some here and there, but couldn't give enough to fill like she was mattering. And school had kept her from volunteering much time. But the green-eyed film student had found a way to help; when Peter had told her about his wolf-documentary, she'd told him about Grace's fight. Peter had called some of his friends in the industry and their support had smoothed the last of the bumps for Grace. In June, they'd finished the fences; by the time that August was out of the hospital, they had their first two wolves, a bonded pair that had been raised by humans. They were unable to survive on their own, and utterly unafraid of people. With their wild instincts strong despite their upbringing, it was a bad combination.

Now, however, Pitt and Jolie - their owners had been avid fans of the actor and actress - had a safe place to live, as well as two other wolves who were also unable to survive their human upbringing. And today, all the supporters and the public were getting a chance to meet the first four beneficiaries of their efforts.

August parked her car with the others and walked through the gate, excited. Yes, Dr. Hilliger had told her to get rid of all of her wolf-stuff, to step away from the obsession with them. And she would, soon. But the opening of the sanctuary was something August had been looking forward to for a long time.

[SalmonMax]

Presently Triessa's walk led her to a fenced off area where a small knot of people had gathered. There was a knot of them off to the left, where one woman in particular seemed to be the focus of attention. There was even a photographer present. Then there were a few more in dribbles of one and two all down the length of the fence peering wistfully inside. When she got a little closer, Triessa saw the wolves.

There were two of them, standing a ways back from the fence but making no effort to hide themselves. No, she saw, there were four. The other two were farther back, and a bit more shy. Mated pairs, she supposed. They seemed a bit standoffish, but not in the way a wild animal would be. They didn't flee or hide. Rather they seemed wary but also interested in the people...a reaction to strangers, not possible dangers.

Triessa moved within earshot of the woman and the photographer and the crowd long enough to overhear the basic situation. Wolves that had, for one reason or another, had to be reared by human hands but who retained enough of their feral instinct that they could not be domesticated. And yet, they weren't entirely wild anymore either. The situation brought a rueful smile to Triessa's lips. What damage we don't cause from spite, we do out of kindness.

Then she stopped and blinked. Was that?

"August?" she asked as she came closer along the fence to where the young woman she recognized was gazing across at her beloved wolves. "August Turner? From Oneca and Lucien's party?"

When August looked around, Triessa sucked in a breath involuntarily. It wasn't just how tired August looked, though she did. It wasn't even the hopelessness that sloshed around in her eyes under a thin cap of sociability. No, it was that a big, ugly spirit had somehow entered the Twilight near August and latched onto her. It now clung to her face and hair like grotesque living porridge. To Triessa's spell-enhanced senses, it covered her eyes and ears...shielding August perhaps from things it didn't want her to grasp. It wasn't Riding her, not yet...but it was sinking its fangs in, whispering to her in the quiet places that consciousness didn't quite reach into.

"It's Triessa," she managed to finish, putting a smile on as she tried to think. "We met fairly briefly. How are you?"

[z-August Turner]

There were other reasons that August had come out here today. The first was to enjoy a measure of the success she'd had a tiny part in bringing about. The second was because, to put it simply: wolves. But the final reason was why she was here alone, instead of inviting Lucien or Dec. She knew they'd have both enjoyed it, in different ways. She needed to be alone right now. August needed solitude and some time to think about something, anything, other than the craziness in her life. School was starting soon, and she couldn't allow her insanity to mess up her progress to her degree.

The wolves were a solace. It was sad to see them, knowing that some humans, probably with the best of but utterly selfish intentions, had fucked up their lives. But it was good to see that they would at least have a measure of freedom and happiness. And there were room for still more wolves here, more lost lives that could be saved from people who didn't understand that a wild animal needed more than love to be happy. They needed to be wild, to be what they were.

August thought of a wolf with silver eyes and shivered a little.

A voice calling her name was about the last thing she wanted to hear. Grace was guaranteed to be busy all day, and they'd already traded their three minutes of greetings and appropriately censored life updates. She didn't know anyone else here, she thought. Faking a smile, August turned to face the woman approaching her. August's smile relaxed a bit at the sight of Triessa. It was hard not to smile at her. The woman was so normal and calm and pleasant. This wouldn't be that bad.

"Triessa," August replied, smiling, "it's good to see you. I didn't know you'd be here. And I'm fine, thanks for asking." The socially appropriate lie slipped off of her tongue with ease. "I know you just moved to town. How'd you find out about Kagel's?"

[SalmonMax]

Triessa shrugged. "I didn't. I was driving somewhere else completely when I saw the sign and decided to check it out. Glad I did though."

She went to the fence and leaned forward against it as she watched the wolves. "I heard what happened to them. They're in a tough spot. Creatures that are part of two worlds, but not really belonging to either. Torn between their trust and love of human beings...and their inability to overcome the instincts that separate them from us."

"It's nice that someone was able to give them a place. Not everyone who's in their position gets that."

[z-August Turner]

"No. Grace is a hero," August said with a sigh of admiration. She'd already been leaning against the fence, and now she joined Triessa in that lean, watching the wolves. One of them was easing forward in starts and stops, nose working as curiosity overcame caution. The humans watching all held their collective breathes for a moment. "They're beautiful," August sighed, her expression relaxing further. The spirit on her head writhed in irritation. It hadn't gotten so far that it could taint this moment for her, though Triessa could see it trying to whisper poison to her.

"So. You going to become a supporter?" August asked, turning to smile at Triessa. "You seem the earthy type. Into nature and all that."

[SalmonMax]

"I definitely support this place," Triessa agreed. "And I am those things, if not JUST those things." She paused then said, "This place is good for you. You must really identify with these wolves." She smiled. "Maybe you see a bit of yourself in them."

It was good to see the spirit discomfitted. It meant that it wasn't really in control of anything. It was just hanging on for dear life so as not to be sucked back into the Shadow. She could see it, and she knew she'd able to talk to it...but the techniques to hurt or cast spirits out were beyond her at the moment. That didn't mean it couldn't be fought. Spirits had bans...lines they couldn't cross. If she could work out this one's bans, she might be able to use them against it. That would take patience though, and in the meantime she had to gain and keep August's trust.

[z-August Turner]

August paused, her eyes going oddly distant. "I don't see myself in them. I see things I'd like to be, or have. I'd like to believe in family again," she said softly. "To belong to someone or something that completely, to know where you go. I'd like to be as strong as they are, as able to defend myself. I'd like to be as cunning as they can be. They have many good qualities which I'd like to have."

She sighed and shifted, as if waking from a daydream. "So why are you here, to enjoy these specific things?" This was good. This was conversation that didn't remind her of everything fucked in her life that she needed to forget for a while. It was relaxing to not be around the issues that were making her life so miserable.

[SalmonMax]

Triessa listened, watching the wolves, privately astonished at how easily August opened up despite what she was enduring. To be suffering, but to trust...it was both a gift and a curse.

"I'm here because..." she shrugged. "Because of a whim. Because lately wolves have been a recurring theme in the 'dream' of life, and I am curious to see where that theme takes me." Triessa looked from the wolves to August. "You know, you do remind me of these wolves. You are open to the world, and even when it hurts you, you can't pull back. But it's made you strong in ways I'm not sure you're even aware of."

She sighed and returned her gaze to the wolves. The thrice-damned spirit would be eager to close August off from help. Getting through would take infinite patience. "I remember hearing you're a film student?"

[Owns-The-Night]

A squealing hiss of brakes and the door opening heralded the arrival of a bus at the fork of Lopez Canyon Road and Bailey Road, the vehicle pulling up at a stop outside a store bearing the legend "Glen's Pet Supplies". Wearing a grey, now-sleeveless t-shirt reading "Remember My Name (You'll Be Screaming It Later)" in green lettering, jogging shorts and his favorite pair of running shoes, Declan stepped down from the bus and shouldered his small pack. Lunch, a small towel, and two bottles of water were all the bag contained, and all he needed for a day in the park, and he took a deep breath of the air that already seemed cleaner up here in the hills. Looking around, he saw the pet store and grinned to himself before setting off at a brisk jog up the road.

He took it easy for the first mile or so, settling into a tireless flowing trot that ate up the distance like a fat kid eats candy. It was a Saturday, and there was plenty of traffic on the road to keep him from really opening up the throttle, but that still meant the first mile went past in just over five minutes. He'd loved running even before he was a soldier, never mind before he was a vargr. There was freedom in the run, especially in less settled areas like this one. Nothing between him and the sky, nothing constraining him. Apart from the odd ranch-style home, he passed no buildings at all as he wound his way up towards the newly-opened wolf sanctuary, and the stink of Man's pollution faded into a background puff of air as he climbed higher along the mountain road, reaching the sign and the visitor's carpark after another mile. There were several knots of people coming back down the trail towards the parking lot, talking animatedly about the 'beautiful creatures'. Despite himself, it made Declan smile as he passed a family unit: two kids chattering excitedly about the wolves to their parents. People weren't so bad, when they forgot to be assholes. Nature was good for helping normal folks with that. Hell, nature helped him with that.

He could smell the wolves on the wind now as he turned and began to run down the dusty trail too narrow and bumpy for anything other than a serious offroad vehicle.

[z-August Turner]

Hippy. The thought wasn’t unkind, but it allowed August to neatly label Triessa and give her the polite nod-and-smile routine as the woman talked. That smile remained until Tree turned the conversation to August’s personal life. Her expression became more animated as the subject of her life was brought to the forefront. “Yeah, that’s me, broke film student,” August said with a grin. She seemed to take a bit of pride in that, and Triessa could see the spirit writhe irritably. “I hope this is my last year. It’d be awesome if it were.”

“Then what?” Triessa asked.

“Then I get a job. A friend of my father’s already took me on as an intern and he seemed to like my work, so I hope he’ll hire me again. I’ve got a portfolio built up, so I can build on that.” August paused and reminded herself to not nerd out about herself. “What about…”

Her voice trailed off as a familiar form trotted into the visitor’s area. The wolves stirred behind her, their attention going from casual to focused. August’s was pretty focused, too. She hadn’t seen Dec since the day he’d tried to leave town. She’d tried not to think about him, because that brought up things she wasn’t ready to deal with yet. She smiled and gamely waved to the big man, noting his athletic form and subconsciously comparing him to Finn again. Down girl. He’s crazy. You’re crazy. The crazy will not cancel each other out. “Sorry, saw someone,” she said, even as Tree turned to see. “I didn’t catch what you do?” Dirty hippy stuff, I bet, she tried to joke to herself.

[SalmonMax]

"Oh look, it's Declan from the party," Triessa said. She didn't sound at all surprised to see him though. She looked back at August.

"As for what I do...that's one reason I brought up your film experience. I'd like to make movies...movies are very good at shifting people's attitudes over time. They create and reinforce a popular culture. I'd like to try to harness that, to promote ideas about sustainable living. At this point...it's all kind of vague to me, because I don't know how movies work. So I was hoping to learn more about the industry first. I figured if I can find out what drives the industry, I can figure out ways to make my goals more attractive to it."

Noticing that August was looking over her shoulder rather than at her, Triessa said, "Hi Declan. I'm glad you could join us," without turning around to look. "I was just talking to August about my plans. It was a good deflection away from her actual question, which is what I do right now."

Her teeth flashed in a sunny smile. "Which is mostly getting to know the area, and working out my next steps. I'm going to have a lot on my plate soon, and if I just dive in, it'll get overwhelming."

"And August is a film student, who has an internship coming up, which I think is great."

[Owns-The-Night]

"Yeah it is." Dec nodded and smiled as he pulled his towel from the pack and wiped sweat from his face, covering his surprise (and a little concern) to see that both August and Triessa were here. Of course, he liked both of them just fine, but he'd kind of been counting on not running into anyone he knew up here on his little impromptu inspection. Ever since he'd first 'talked' to a dog, ever since he'd gone to the wolf enclosure at the zoo, he knew that having people that knew him around with canines was something to cause suspicion.

"Gonna cool down a little." he said laconically, not seeming much out of breath from his run. He moved away from the two of them slightly and stretched a bit. Tree and August were chatting - he'd have a little time to say 'hi' to the residents of the enclosure.

Most animals were uneasy around the vargr, as they would be around a predator. He found that by staying well-fed and not getting too close, he could easily walk past, say, a cat on the street without the animal freaking the hell out - animals knew whether predators were hungry or not. But canines (and obviously lupines) had a different reaction to him. They watched him like he was a wolf; and not just any wolf either - they watched him like he was the Boss Wolf. They focused on him, hung on his every gesture and shift of posture, like he was some kind of messiah or something. It was eerie at first. Dogs were more nervous, and tended to whine in the backs of their throats and make appeasement gestures. Even trained attack or guard dogs came to heel with a single snarl. Wolves usually had more decorum, watching curiously to see if he intended to join them and run with the pack. If there was an alpha, he usually didn't make a fuss. Wolves are eminently practical animals when it comes to futile battles, after all. Besides, Owns-The-Night wasn't interested in staying with a wolf pack - he just liked to hunt and relax with them now and then.

He pulled out a bottle of water and took a drink as, moving close to the fence, he crouched down and regarded the wolves. Who regarded him in turn. All four sets of lupine eyes was watching him steadily, the animals keenly observing this new wolf who wore a two-leg skin. The bonded pair hang back as the youngest female, a timber wolf with scars across her muzzle but a bright, inquisitive look in her eyes trotted towards the fence and sniffed at him, tail and head low but ears pricked up alertly. She made a soft whuffling sound in her chest and came right up to the fence, curiousity evident in the tilt of her head.

*Silver-Eye friend?*

*Friend.* Dec shuffled his feet slightly, but otherwise squatted with his head held high and still, close to the wire. The female did the best she could to raise her muzzle to his, but the fencing was designed so that foolish people wouldn't be tempted to stick hands in to feed the wolves.

*Why Silver-Eye two-legs?* she asked with a mixture of amusement and intense curiousity. First contact established, the other wolves were starting to drift over. Dec glanced at the watching people, most of whom didn't seem to have connected their behaviour with him. A few noticed the female right up near him and were pointing it out to their friends.

*Hide on two-legs, man not know.* Owns-The-Night replied. *Not all come. Man spook, make loud noises, ruin hiding.* The curious wolves evidenced a little disappointment, but retreated back to their sunning spots and left the female to talk to him.

*Play?* she asked with a playful splay of her paws and a quick turnabout, coming round to face him once more. Declan smiled and shook his head.

*Not today. Curious. Little sister happy?* he enquired. The she-wolf pondered that for a moment.

*Not-unhappy. Clean smell. No dogs. No fighting dogs with men shouting. Food good.* she replied pragmatically. *Room to run. Room to play. Other wolves.*

*Other wolves happy?* Again, if wolves could shrug she would have.

*Not-unhappy. Mate-pair miss a two-leg.* She watched Declan as he took another drink of water. *Silver-Eye should play. Run. Roll. Hunt.*

*Two-legs fear.* Dec replied with a very soft growl. *Have to hide as a two-leg. Maybe come back when dark. Tell me more about this place that is yours.*

[z-August Turner]

“I, uh…” Declan was gone before August could correct Tree’s mistaken assumption. “Actually,” she said softly, “I did the internship earlier this summer.” And then had my nervous breakdown. Declan’s appearance had clearly unnerved her; even as she considered how freakin’ hawt he was, she didn’t want to be around him. Not right now, because all he did was remind her of what she was trying to forget.

Her green eyes turned greener with envy as she watched the female wolf come over to Declan, just on the other side of the fence. She’d always wanted that kind of communion with animals, particularly wolves.

She thought of a wolf with silver eyes and shivered.

“August?” Triessa asked.

“Yes,” she answered, then caught back up with the line of conversation. “If you’re interested in making films, I do know someone who might be able to help. But I can tell you that you’ll need funding. Sustainability is hot right now, so finding people may not be hard. Peter can give you an idea about whether you can find help.” She paused and looked vaguely embarrassed. “I’m babbling on and assuming you don’t have the finances yourself. I’m sorry. Maybe you should tell me exactly what you need to know?”

[SalmonMax]

Triessa shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not even sure what questions to ask. I feel like I just need to hang around a set sometime. See how it works. Learn its unspoken rules. Lets not talk business here and now though. We're in a pretty place, with things and people you like. This moment is to be enjoyed. The work will come soon, but not just yet."

She watched Declan for a moment, then said, "Careful about being too friendly with them." She let that hang until Dec looked around at her, when she added, "That's how they got here to begin with." With a hand Triessa indicated the fence...but also the people, who were starting to gawk at 'the Wolf Whisperer.'

[Owns-The-Night]

"True." Dec said as he straightened up. The she-wolf looked at him for a moment, then trotted back from the fence, heading over to the others. The large man watched her go as he spoke to Tree, his deep voice oddly gentle... and sad. "There's not many places for them, regardless. Man's made sure of that. But then Man made places like this for them to be safe, too. Can't figure people out, sometimes. I'm better with animals and plants." He sighed and turned towards the two women, that habitual, roguishly lopsided smile chasing away his pensive expression. "Y'know, the simple stuff."

He glanced at the gawkers, then shrugged at them as if to say 'What?' before looking back at Triessa and August. "Thought I'd trot up and check the place out, see for myself." He smiled again. "I wasn't expectin' to see two of my favorite ladies here today. Been awhile." That was mainly directed at Tree, but there was a subtext for August too. She hadn't called or spoken to him since she'd persuaded him not to flee town, apparently because she liked him so damn much, whatever the hell that meant, seeing as after she'd had her chat with Oneca's group of special people Declan'd had seen neither hide nor hair of her. He reminded himself that she was dealing with seeing dead people, which couldn't be pretty, as well as probably blanking over the events of that saturday night. Ahh well. It wasn't like he was Prince Charming, slaying a dragon in honorable combat to rescue the twinkly fairy princess. Nope, he was the Wolf, who ripped up the fairy-wannabe to save a girl who saw dead people and now was seeing one more dead person due to him. That was why fairy-tales were horseshit. "So how you both been?"

[z-August Turner]

August took his statement ‘Been awhile’ as a reprimand. Even if he hadn’t meant it that way, August felt a pang of guilt at ignoring him. Well, not ignoring so much as desperately trying to put her life back together and having zero success. It had left her with little time to do much else – or rather little inclination to do much else.

“I’ve been busy.” Ah, the best of the social lies: the busy life that prevented people from calling one another or keeping in touch. August knew she would be contacting Dec again. He was a friend, at least in her mind. After all he’d saved her life, if that wasn’t a friend, what was? She just hadn't gotten the point where she could do it yet. It was important to note that she was definitely going to call him again. “You know how it can be. Wait, you ran up here?” August looked befuddled at the idea.

“Yeah, it’s good for the legs,” Dec told her.

“It’s uphill most of the way,” August stated, starting to look horrified at the thought of so much physical labor.

“It’s really good for the legs,” Dec replied, smirking in that oh-so-sexy way of his.

August blamed that smile when she committed her Freudian slip.“You do have great legs,” August said, then turned red. Dec grinned at the compliment as the green-eyed girl stammered, “A-a-and ahhh, while I’m choking on my foot, how have you been, Triessa?”

[SalmonMax]

"Oh, I'm generally pretty good," Triessa replied with a smile. "One nice thing about pursuing a life of simplicity...there's not much that can go wrong with it. Money might be a bit tight at first, until I get enough people coming to see me. But that will come with time." She spoke with the casual optimism of someone who knew in their hearts that things would be okay in the end. Oh it might not be easy, and you might pay a toll...but in the end, things would work out.

"Mostly just trying to make new friends, and develop the ones I have, and that's just fun, so I've been pretty good."

[z-August Turner]

"Oh, right, you just got here," August said, nodding. She didn't share Triessa's optimism for 'things being okay'. In August's experience, they generally weren't okay, even when you tried to make them better. For too long she'd struggled to have the life she wanted, only to have it being taken away, piece by piece. "What do you mean, coming to see you? What do people give you money to do?"

[SalmonMax]

Triessa shrugged mysteriously, then relented and said, "It kind of depends where I am. I tailor my pitch to the area. Sometimes I sell little trinkets and things. Usually though I sell tea. I custom make herbal concoctions. Sometimes just for taste and smell...but there's also mild medicinal effects, like helping people sleep or to deal with aches and pains. It's not the kind of thing I can put on a sign really, but I encourage people to spread word of mouth. And I don't gouge on pricing either...sometimes I do barter even."

She gazed at August sympathetically for a moment then said, "I was going to suggest something for you, to be honest. You seem like you could use some sleep...but this might not be the best time to get into that. It's nice to see you so happy here. Smiling and laughing is the cure to what ails you, I think. Nothing I can brew into a tea."

[z-August Turner]

August stilled a wince, but her annoyance with the turn of the conversation was clear. "I like wolves." Her psychologist wanted her to give this up, but the girl didn't see how. For a long time, they'd been the single solid thing in her life, the one thing she counted on never changing. The memory of the one that had helped her had sustained her through some hard times. And then the one with the silver eyes...

Without meaning to, she glanced at Dec, just for a second. Those glorious green eyes pulled away a beat later, coming to rest on Tree again. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm a college student. Lack of sleep is practically a requirement." She paused another moment and said more softly, "I don't know if this is just the way you are, but you're being really nice for someone who doesn't really know me, especially in LA. I don't know why - are you hitting on me? I'm flattered but don't lean that way." August's tone was polite as she spoke but her eyes were uneasy.

[SalmonMax]

"Nope, not hitting on you," Triessa demurred. "Like I've said, I'm looking to make friends in the area. I usually find that being nice to people works better for making friends." She grins. "But I'm sorry if I seemed like I was prying. It's always a delicate balance between showing enough interest and showing too much. And I don't really, you know, I just kind of blah blah blah, whatever's on my mind, without running it through an editor first, so I do sometimes make folks upset or anger without meaning to."

"Sorry," she added. "In case this one of of those times."

[Owns-The-Night]

"Nothin' wrong with saying what's on yer mind." Declan observed quietly, leaning against the fence and dividing his attention between the wolves and the two women. The young she-wolf was scampering around one of the males excitedly, trying to goad the surly male into playing. Kaitlin he thought amusedly, remembering the irrepressible energy the blonde kid had displayed at the party and mentally assigning the muzzle-scarred female the new name. He looked over at Tree and smiled slightly. "You ain't made me angry yet, and that's easier for most people than obeyin' gravity. So don't sweat it." He jerked a thumb at August.

"August here just gets all bristly when nice people say 'When was the last time you ate, girl?' and so on." he continued with a sly grin. "I practically had to hold her down and make her eat on our first meetin', and she thought I was playin' sugar daddy."

"Why are you picking on me?" August demanded plaintively, her green eyes narrowing at him.

"Because yer cute when you scrinch up your face like that." Declan shot back, exaggeratedly squinting back at her before glancing back over at the wolves, plainly having said his piece, though a smile played around the corners of his mouth as he idly contemplated his nearby 'kin'.

[z-August Turner]

"Oh, I am?" August asked, her tone and expression light even as a blush colored her cheeks. Declan had that effect on her; he had the ability to make her feel lightheaded with delight, not to mention lust. Declan nodded somberly, as if confirming a matter of grave import, but a moment later his teasing grin spread across his face.

"That is interesting that your reaction to someone attempting to care about you is to assume that they're hitting on you," Triessa noted. A smirk tugged at her lips as she said in a German accent, "Tell me avout yore fah-der."

August smiled, though she didn't like the joke. Dec glanced at her, a little concerned. "Har-har," August said as she got a smile going. "I am clearly a deviant personality and therefore see deviant personalities all around me. Of course, you look a little shady, Triessa."

"And I'm me," Dec said with a roguish grin.

"Exactly," August said, her smile more real now. "Small wonder I thought you guys were deviants as well!"

[SalmonMax]

"Oh, I'm completely deviant," Trissa agreed nonchalantly. "I see things other people can't see; I rebel against reality and the Throne of God. Doesn't get more deviant than that." She grinned. "But I'm still basically nice. How bad can I be, if I want to save the world?"

[z-August Turner]

"Hitler wanted to save the world," August said, quirking an eyebrow. Despite her words, there was still a bit of humor in her voice. "There are a lot of people who say he's bad. A lot of people thought he was very nice. I guess the real question is: what is your plan to save the world?"

August was still a little uneasy. She felt like Triessa wanted something from her, but that could be as innocent as wanting to be her friend. Still, August didn't actually know what it was that the dark-haired hippy sought and until she did, she'd be cautious. Casually, took a step back and leaned against the fence, slipping her fingers through the links. She wasn't worried about the wolves; they wouldn't be able to reach her fingers through the double-enclosure.

[SalmonMax]

"Hitler wanted to save the world for his chosen people," Triessa corrected mildly. "Not everyone. Not everything. But yeah, point taken."

She looked out at the wolves.

"The truth is, a lot of people are already out there trying to save the world right now. Like a giant tug of war. I guess my plan is just to try to contribute, meaningfully, to the side I believe in." She nodded at August. "The movie idea is one. There's others. And I guess part of my plan is just to live the way I think life ought to be lived, and die with no regrets."

Abruptly Triessa grinned. "Of course, I can't say TOO much, or the Hippie Black Ops team would have to terminate you."

It was maddening, the mage found, to see the Twilight spirit writhing uncomfortably over August...a host that was no longer feeding it what it wanted. She wanted to tell August, but she sensed that she'd already come very close to the edge of what the young woman was prepared to hear. And she was sure the spirit would nudge and feed any doubts August had, inflame them into defensive reactions that would create barriers between them that could take a very long time to chip away at again.

But it was so frustrating not to be able to act!

"What about you, August? What kind of life do you want?"

[Owns-The-Night]

Dec had been watching the wolves again, crouching by the fence as he kept one ear cocked up (metaphorically) for August and Triessa's conversation. They'd been talking about saving the world which, if it wasn't just mouthing bullshit, was a decent enough goal. Of course, he wondered if Tree realised what it might take to really save the world - Dec was a product of a hard upbringing and tough training, not to mention the simplistic brutality of his Feral nature. In his view, the world was saved by culling the rotten elements with swift, decisive action. He was just one Vargr, so he culled the elements that were within his reach. Rehabilitation wasn't a word he recognised as applying to most of his chosen prey - vampires, career criminals and similar scuzballs who thought they were alpha predators, when in fact they were scavengers and parasites fostering weakness to feed upon.

"Uh, hi?"

It wasn't really a question so much as it was a tentative way for someone to get his attention. He looked round, then up into the freckled face of a girl barely into her teens, with frizzy red hair and braces. She was nervous as hell, but the curiousity of childhood outweighed the fearfulness of adulthood as she braced herself in the face of that silver stare. Dec paused a moment, to see if she'd run, and when she didn't he just nodded at her.

"Yeah?"

"My friends and I-" she gestured over at a gaggle (that really was the best group noun) of kids her own age, mostly girls with a couple of guys, all of whom were clustered for long-distance support, watching as she talked to him. "-Well, we were wondering about that wolf." she pointed out the female. "He knows you, right? Like, all of these animals came from being pets or rescued. And he seems to know you."

"She." Declan said shortly. "He's a she." As soon as he said it, he mentally cussed himself out. Way to keep a low profile... Well, now he had to forge onwards. "What did ya wanna know?"

Shit.

"Oh. Right." The girl shifted from foot to foot. "What's her story, then? She's got those scars on her face."

"Dog-fighting." Declan said with another look over at the female. "She was half-tamed and used for dogfights."

"Oh!" the girl turned to look over at the she-wolf, who was currently flopped in the partial shade of a tree. "That's horrible."

"Yeah." He looked up at her. "It is."

"Well... Thanks." she said, backing up a little before turning and heading over to her friends. Declan watched her go for a moment, then went back to watching the wolves.

[z-August Turner]

“A happy one,” August said, and there was real longing in her voice. Her gaze was a little bleak as she gazed at the wolves, envying them their safety. She was glad they’d come out of their hell, however. “I want to get work filming and find someone to marry and maybe someday have kids.”

“Maybe?” Tree asked, looking curious.

August grinned but it wasn’t happy. “I don’t know if I’d be a good mom. I didn’t have a great mom, so I’m not sure how to be a good one. I’m not sure I’d want to do that to a kid – saddle them with a mom like me.”

Her eyes flicked to Declan, listening as he made up a story about the female wolf being used in pit-fights. But it gave the girl a story to put with human cruelty; hopefully she’d grow up to be an activist. “But that’s what I want,” August said softly. “Something peaceful, quiet, happy and normal.”

[SalmonMax]

Triessa considered that. It wasn't going to go that way, of course. She could tell that much even without a whiff of Fate magic. But how best to polish that turd?

"Let me ask you an odd question," she said. When August gave her a mildly suspicious look, she grinned and shrugged. "It's not bad, just odd. Suppose right now, I pulled back the curtains of time and you saw two possible futures for yourself. One where you lived that peaceful, quiet, happy and normal life...and one where your life was something different, where there might be moments of peace, and you find happiness of a sort, but it's rarely quiet and never normal. You also see that in the future with the normal life, that although you're genuinely happy, there are things about yourself you never learn, places you never see, people you never meet. Wheras in the not-so-normal life, the challenges you must face cause you to grow into someone strong and resourceful; you come into your own and fulfill your potential. You see things both terrible and wonderful, but mostly you see things that you know very few ever have, or will. You meet people you never imagined you would. A life, in short, of consequence."

Triessa took a deep breath and smiled warmly. "So the devil's question is this. Which do you want now? Does knowing what I've just said make a difference to your decision? Or is peace and normalcy worth any price?"

[z-August Turner]

"Why would the life without all the terrible and wonderful things be without consequence?" August asked, looking annoyed. "Why does it have to be that way? Why can't the peaceful happy life be just as fulfilling as the other?"

"I never said-"

"No, you didn't. You implied it, though," August said. "I've lived the terrible and the wonderful, and the former does not equal out the latter. My father was abusive, my twin sister died, but I've had nothing but good since meeting Oneca. But that time with her does not make the shit I went through okay or even something tolerable. It doesn't make my life now equal. I have yet to see that what I've already went though provided anything of consequence, aside from taking away my sister and father, and putting my mot-" August cut her rant short. "The life I want will be a life of consequence for me."

[SalmonMax]

And there it was, August's deep vein of pain, laid open like a swipe of gold in cold quartz. Even as Triessa felt a surge of compassion, a colder eye in her head surveyed what she saw as well. Humanity's great flaw was that they could learn from the past, and anticipate the future, but they so seldom could see the present for what it was. August was conflicted...trying hard to get over her traumatic past by fixating on an uncertain future.

Rather than reply, Triessa just accepted what August said, providing no resistance or judgment, and looked back out at the wolves.

"I spent most of my life until I was about fifteen bouncing between psychiatrists and prescriptions," she said, as if speaking to the wolves. "Not because I needed them for myself. Because other people in my family, and friends, and school...because they needed me to be who I was when I was on them. Not who I actually was. I didn't understand that for a long time. I believed them when they said something was wrong with me, with my brain...with my thoughts. Then I met someone else who understood who I really was and who helped me accept that, and it was like waking up. And what was strange, to me, was that even though I'd basically wasted the first decade and a half of my life, once I had that awakening, I didn't hate them. I wasn't even angry with them. I saw all the pieces of my life coming together to make me, like a puzzle. Even the pieces I hated. Even the ones that made me scream. Especially those, in fact."

"I know what I went through is nothing like what you did. I had more choice. I walked away from my family, you had yours taken. But I also feel like we have a little in common. I always used to feel like...when I looked at the world, it never fit together the way it should. People would tell me how it worked, and I'd be confused, because it never matched up with what I saw. And I felt awful about myself until I finally realized the truth."

"I was right. What I saw was right. They were wrong. The real world is...more...than what most people will ever know."

[z-August Turner]

"You know, that makes you insane," August said mildly, her eyebrows quirked in quiet bemusement. "We're not that much alike, because I believe the world is right. You make your struggle sound like some kind of great victory over everyone else, but it's not." August sighed. "Look, I don't want to insult or offend you. But what you're talking about is insanity, to go against what is real." August spoke with the assurance of the Sleeper, of someone drenched in the reality that had been constructed. But there was more to it, too - August clung to the beliefs that had defined 'reality' with the fear of the drowning.

[SalmonMax]

"It only makes me insane if they're all right," Triessa points out mildly. "The Sle...the..." she scowled for a second and rephrased. "It's not so crazy though, to think a small handful of people, or even just one person, can be right when almost everyone else is wrong. It's happened before, and it will happen again. The names are like a reading of modern saints. Gallileo. Copernicus. Isaac Newton. Einstein. Each one saw that the universe was something bigger than anyone else thought. And they figured out how to prove it."

She tapped a finger on the fence's crossbeam. "I'm not a genius. I won't ever be taught in history books. But I do have one thing in common with those people. I know that reality is bigger than most people will ever understand...and that there's room in it for things most people will never believe in. But proof is harder." Triessa shook her head. "Proof is where it all gets complicated."

[Owns-The-Night]

There was a faint cough.

It wasn't a loud noise, or an ominous one. It wasn't scornful or amused, and it wasn't even particularly intrusive. But even as she heard the noise, August realised she'd been subconsciously dreading it, or something like it, from the noise's source. Blue-green eyes glanced sideways and down a little, meeting a gleaming silver stare that she'd seen... No... that she'd seen the night... Not possible... when the man with the knife had... A hallucination, not a wolf. Especially not a wolf with silver eyes. Not real.

But he was real. Declan was about as real as a person got, almost too real at times. And right now he was fixing her with a level, calm stare from where he crouched beside the fence, a silent challenge in his gaze. "Go ahead. Deny I'm real. Call me a liar or a crazy." the stare said. "I talk to wolves, even though you like to think otherwise. I turn into one. You've seen the wolf, and it wasn't in your head. You know what I am, you're just afraid."

[z-August Turner]

August colored a little at the noise but held her ground. “Until you prove it,” she said, pointedly not looking at the guy who had offered her some proof, “I can’t subscribe to your newsletter, sorry. It’s just not real. Proving it can be hard – it’s a bitch if something’s not real.”

Realizing that she was starting to pass beyond ‘grumpy’ and heading into ‘hateful’, August inhaled deeply and counted to three. “I’m not trying to bust anyone’s balls here. I’m just saying that until something is proven, you should expect that people are going to see you as nuts. I know that people will see me that way, and I accept that.” The subtext was: Why don’t you accept that?

Were August a mage or werewolf, perhaps she’d understand things more clearly. But she didn’t, and right now, she wasn’t ready to accept the truth of the sleeping world.

[SalmonMax]

Triessa shrugged it off. "I don't see you as nuts," she said. "But I guess that's not a big comfort at this point."

She fell quiet for a moment, then asked, "August, what makes you happy? Like...the happiest you've ever been before. Where were you and what were you doing?"

[z-August Turner]

That was rather personal... and rather hard for her to answer. There weren't a lot of happy ones and a lot of the good ones were tainted by other memories - like every nice thing her father had done for her was overwhelmed by a memory of him hurting her. "The day Oneca let me move in," she finally answered, remembering the relief and joy that she was getting out of that awful dorm. room. And that memory was inter-tied with dozens of happy memories as her friendship with Oneca had grown.

"Why?" she asked, her eyes a little suspicious.

[SalmonMax]

Triessa didn't reply right away. Finally she said, "You should bring Oneca here sometime soon. I think she'd really like it...I think you both would."

And maybe, if you're lucky, it'll be enough to convince that thing to hunt elsewhere.

With a deep breath she added, "I have to go. I'm sorry I couldn't..." She bit the words off and shook her head. "Sorry for the crazy. It's really not what you need right now. I do hope things improve for you though, August."

She smiled and gave both August and the wolves...Declan included...a farewell wave before starting back towards the trail to the road again. Not being able to help August was infuriating...especially when doing so wasn't FAR outside her grasp. The next time they met, she decided, she'd be ready.