The Rite of the Totem (Little Pack)

[Danny]

The Umbra, Monday Afternoon - (Out of sync with the downtime threads. Feel free to keep posting in those.)

Danny and Kasiya were already in the Umbra, waiting patiently for the members of the new forming pack. They still had some time before the designated hour, so Danny took the opportunity to clarify a few more things.

"This Rite will be different," he said. "Unlike yesterday's. The war pack already knew their Totem, they had quested for him, earned his trust and his patronage. We summoned Tapio in the name of his cubs, and he came. But these kids will have to search for their Spirit and convince him that they're worthy. We will guide them."

Out of the pockets of his trousers he pulled a tin, and in it were a few strands of long shredded leaves. He offered some to Kasiya.
"Try it," he said, giving no indication that it was part of the rite.

[Maria]

To say Maria to be excited would have been a gross understatement. She had excitedly read the book that Danny had given her, then cleaned her outfit and hair and then sat around the library, being nearly unable to calm down and read as she usually did.

As Maria jumped into the umbra, she could feel her heart pounding fast in her chest. Then it came to a halt when she saw Danny and a wolf she didn't know. The metis took a few steps back and calmed herself down enough to be as proper as she could.
"Greeting, Walks-With-Death-rhya, and you, honorable garou, did I interrupt something?" she asked, bowing slightly first to Danny, then to Kasiya.

(( is this a okay entry?))

[Kasiya]

((Kas is in Homid ATM, better for rites. Click on his name in the cast list for a description.))

Taking the tin and making sure he had a firm grip (there wasn't much to spill), Kasiya raises it to his nose and sniffs, continuing the habit of a lifetime and trusting his nose before his eyes.
Being a keen participant of rituals, the soft, musky smell of the Tobacco is one he knows.

"Tobacco. The humans use it to poison themselves, but it makes a good offering to some spirits.
I heard once the Uktena like to use it."

A moments searching dredges up memories of lost souls whose dying wish had been one last drag...

"Do we burn it?"

Disrupted by the arrival of Limp-Paw, Kas doesn't get his answer straight away.
More disturbing however, is that he has a nose full of the pungent aroma of Tobacco, meaning he can't take her scent. The wolf in him objects at a primal level.
Human lips twitch into a snarl for a moment. He doesn't know this bitch.

Kasiya turns to face the arrival, dropping in beside Danny as he does so and looks her up and down with dark eyes that don't miss a lot, and as he does so, she realises that he's not quite... right. There's a feeling about him as of the dead. Cold, calm and still as the grave, perhaps a hint of a whisper barely heard out of earshot. It's eerie, and frankly, damn unpleasant to be around.

[Maria]

((oh, sorry))

Maria quickly steps back after seeing Kasiya's snarl and cowers a bit.
" I-I am a member of the pack whose rite is to be held here. I am Limp-Paw, Galliard metis of the Silver Fangs" she says, watching carefully at the movements of the man before her. As he look at her, Maria is trying to look brave as she notices that the man is eerie and almost of death.

[Kasiya]

Reigning back a little, Kasiya closes his eyes and nods, before resuming his attention in a much less piercing manner.

"Kasiya. Known as 'Treads-the-Darkest-Path'. Cliath and Theurge of the Silent Striders."

Without the feral attitude, Kas isn't all that worrisome. He's short and stocky, with deep brown skin and he's decidedly lacking in the muscle department.
But for the aura of death he'd be entirely unremarkable.

"I will be assisting Mephi-Walks-With-Death-Rhya with your Rite of the Totem."

He leaves it at that, Danny had yet to finish instructing him, and Kas wasn't about to talk over his betters. Simple introduction was enough. He does seem leashed back though. His natural instincts tell him he should shift to Lupus, go over and have a good sniff.

[Maria]

Maria gives Kasoya a polite nod.
"Nice to meet you, Treads-the-darkest-path" she says, sitting down on the ground. The metis takes a small book from her coat pocket and starts to read it in waiting of the rest of the pack.

[Danny]

"I think the more practical approach would be to chew it," Danny said. "And then use it to coat the eyes of those wishing to embark on their search."

He watched the exchange between Maria and Kasiya. She was early, which meant she was enthusiastic, and that was rarely a bad thing.

"Let's hope they know what they're looking for," he added. He still didn't know them very well, but they had managed to impress him by returning the pathstone. "Once they have found their Spirit, our part will be over. It will be up to them."

He watched Maria as he spoke. He hadn't gotten the chance to speak with her at length, but she seemed eager to learn, and to overcome the disadvantages of her birth. She would be a good addition to the young pack.

[Kasiya]

Nice? Ah, one of the human words that mean nothing except from a child.

Having lost the opportunity to sniff Maria and to find out how lame her twisted leg was, Kasiya returns to the Rite, scooping some of the 'baccy out and closing the tin.

"So it is an offering. Of sorts? As much as the whole of the Rite is an offering to attract and please their Totem."

At least these cows teeth are useful for something...

He lifts the stringy weed up and lowers it into his upturned mouth, beginning to chew.
Nostrils flare at the unfamiliar taste, and his body, never exposed to stimulants like humans are, begins to respond to the nicotine. Kasiya's eyes move around more rapidly and he fidgets with his fingers a little. He keeps chewing though.

[Danny]

"You probably don't want to get used to it," Danny said. The homids probably weren't going to appreciate it when Kasiya spat in their eyes, but saliva was an essential component to this rite. "It is a small offering. It will get their Totem's attention. Then they will be able to make their own offering."

It had been a while since Danny had a student as attentive as Kasiya. Humans always had too many distractions. Unfortunately there wasn't much he could teach him, besides the odd rite and a few of their tribe's gifts. The Valkyrie had been right. The Caern was in need of a real mystic who could guide the younger Theurges.

[Yvonne]

Yvonne turns up with her usual good mood. The sight of Kasiya doesn't help that, she still hasn't found time to set his attitude straight. But it takes more than an irritation like him to make a noticable difference.
"Hi everyone, are we all set?"
It's pretty obvious that she jogged to the library, she's a little out of breath and pink-faced.

[Maria]

Maria jumps to her feet, which she quickly regrets as her left leg hits the floor.
" Hi,yv,o,on,ne" Maria says as she hops back and fort the room holding her left leg up. After few seconds of that, Maria takes her cane from the floor and leans on it.
"Excuse me for that show" Maria mutters.
" Anyway, are you ready for the rite?" the metis asks her future packmate.

[Max Heller]

After a lazy morning and a less than productive afternoon, Max returned to the Library. Once there, he stepped sideways and searched around a little until he found the little group.

"Good, I'm not late then," he said as he noticed Adiyah still wasn't here yet. Then, noticing the strange Garou he had never met before, he gave Kasiya a nod in greeting. "I am Max, "Claws-of-Fire". Glass Walker."
Meeting strangers always made him revert back to the more formal tone he was used to back home. He wasn't quite used to how casual everyone was here, although he liked it.
He noted the tobacco and almost grimaced. He had been part of a pack once, and he knew what the rite involved. They hadn't used tobacco then, but the saliva bit was universal. At least he knew what to expect this time.

[Kasiya]

Max makes the best impression yet, and it's appreciated. He hadn't caught Kasiya off guard and he didn't have a history of argument. It's appreciated. Kasiya nods his head in a human geture that doesn't quite come naturally as his nostrils flare uselessly in an instinctive attempt to snuff Max's scent.

"Kasiya - 'Treads-the-Darkest-Path'. Cliath Theurge of the Silent Striders."

He has to speak around the gobbet of pulverised tobacco and spit, but manages to transfer it into one cheek for the introduction, after which he has to abandon communicaion to prevent himself from drooling noxious fluid down his chin.

[Maria]

Maria turns her head towards Max as he arrives and bows to him.
" Good to see you, Claws-of-fire-yuff" she says with a small smile, deciding to use a honorable term towards a fellow galliard just in case.

Maria covers her nose with her free hand as the smell of tobacco grows stronger.
" This scent is like Master's smoking room" she mutters as she tries to clear the air with her hand.

[Adiyah]

That smell was already invading Adiyah's nostrils as she appeared in the umbra a minute or so behind Max. She knew what was coming, and wasn't looking forward to the feeling, but it was needed and had to be done for this to work properly. She hoped their future totem would be found quickly.

The theurge walked up to the others and gave them a nod and smile, looking to Danny. "Thank you again for helping us. I apologize for being last, but it looks as if we have everyone now at least."

Keith had wanted another story, he was feeling quite uneasy with her being gone so often, and the fact they were in a new place. Klaus was doing the best he could, which helped alot. She shook her head to clear it, she had to focus, as did they all.