3/21/14 - Outside the Sept, Away from Human Earshot [Howl of Intro.]

Towards midnight on Friday evening, a lone howl issues forth. It has Mediterranean flavor, with a hint of a raucous Gaelic trill. Its tone hints at a polite introduction, but an undercurrent of cynicism turns the overall delivery into something akin to throwing a rock at someone's window to catch their attention.

Pacing between the trees would be a black wolf with a russet underbelly and paws, eyes turned towards the caern even as her body stays in continuous motion. Her body language is relaxed, the pacing seemingly more of an unconscious habit rather than nerves or anxiety.

The wind blows, setting the bare branches of the trees into creaking, clattering motion.  A figure, still as death, perches in an old maple.  "Name.  Auspice.  Tribe.  Place of Origin."  The voice is female, with the resonance of a warning growl deep in the chest.

Jude sat on her haunches at looked up to the female in the tree. In the wolfly tongue she replied, "One is called Howls-at-Dawn, Ahroun of the Furies, septmate of the Hand of Gaia. One comes at the request of Charging Bear of the Uktena."

"I don't know you. I was born at Hand of Gaia. My mother is Diana Kokkinos." There is the sound of an arrow being nocked into place. "I was just there, burying my brother." She speaks to the shimmering figures she knows are there, "After Abbot waltzed into our good graces just before he murdered a Cliath with silver, I trust nothing I can't verify. Would someone be so kind as to get Charging Bear?"

The wolf's tail wagged, tongue lolling out. "One would be surprised if you did know, pure-born." She clipped off the rest of her sentence, as if stopping herself from saying something inappropriate. She took a moment to collect her thoughts.

In a somewhat more respectful tone, she added, "One grieves for your loss."

"Fair." There's no telltale sound of a string being stretched, but no sound of an arrow being replaced in a quiver. "We... I... would have left before you were born." There's a breath, a very heavy sigh. "We'll wait for Charging Bear."

"Charging Bear and his pack are not in the caern."

The voice is that of one of the Guardians. Geesh, it's creepy the way they so seldom show themselves.

Maggie pokes her head from behind a tree further back.

"One has the letter," Jude stated, "in one's bag. If she would prefer one returns after she speaks with the Uktena-born, one is content to wait."

She got to her feet, turning to head towards a clump of bushes, then did a circle to look back to the female in the tree. "It speaks well of she's womb-mate, that she mourns him yet. One presumes he was a fine wolf."

There's a muffled thump, and the figure in the tree is a younger woman wearing a black utility jacket, jeans and boots.  She's holding a bow at the ready.  "Let's see the note."

All she has for the wolf at the mention of her brother is s small nod and a half-smile.

There's an extremely unsubtle crunching of old snow and frozen earth as someone walks out from the Caern. It stops outside of ready vision. "Dunno if you need another pair of hands; who's the new fish?"

"Says she's from Hand of Gaia.  Seeing as we were just there - well, trust but verify.  She's called Howls-at-Dawn."  Artie doesn't turn from the wolf, but the shrug of one shoulder is familiar greeting.

"Did you need air, too?"

"Always." There's a pause. "Apologies, Elders. I understand the current situation, but I did need to get out and stretch my legs. Might aim for a garbage plate run soon, but.." A longer pause. "Business first."

Maggie walks over behind Mitch.

"One will be a moment." The black-and-russet wolf nodded, then trotted back to the shrubs to disappear in a rustle of branches and rain of dried leaves.

She shifted to human, a wiry-framed, tow-headed woman who likely needed a few sandwiches and a few nights of sleep. She knelt down and pulled a bag from under the bushes, pulling on some tattered sweat pants and a t-shirt before pulling out a folded piece of paper.

Jude rose to her feet and walked over to Artemis, ruffling her hair to dislodge some pine needles and held the letter out to her. She gave the other Garou a quick look, but returned her attention to her fellow Fury. "His handwriting is shit, but what can you do?"

Maggie starts mouthing off ( heh see what I did there) and walks over to the truck. She smiles and motions to the truck bed and lolls her tongue like a dog before gives a begging face.

Maggie runs off towards the falls, ( not caeren)

Artie takes the note, reads it and hands it back to the woman. A long moment passes between the two.

"Wait... Jude Howls-At-Dawn... weren't you the ahroun cub that managed to get a Falling Touch off on Lydia Oakrender?" Artie nods her head, and then inclines it in a deeper bow. "Until Charging Bear gets here, I'll welcome you into the sept as a guest." She looks to the shimmering figures of the Warder pack. "If you want to give her the once over, be my guest."

She turns back to Jude. "Sorry, it's been a long couple of weeks." She walks up to the truck. "What do you need, Dietrich?"

Jude flashed a grin at Arty's comment, then gave her a thumbs-up before she moved to speak with the Get. The Ahroun went back to her backpack in the bushes, hefting it to a shoulder and stuffing the letter into one of it's pockets.

She waited for judgment from the Guardian Pack.

Mitch moves a bit closer to the truck, keeping 'operational room' between himself and the newcomer. "Trouble?" His tone is level, with a hint of anticipation.