December: Opening Howl / Inner Sky

[FadedNoel]

Ruby follows close behind Javed the entire night and, as is usual, takes her cues from him. In the cold and ice and snow, the uncomfortable jackal-body protests. This is no desert, it seems to say. Running helps, of course, as it always does.

When they do finally stop, she sits between Javed and Avery, amber eyes taking in the other wolves, ears that seem too big for her head taking in the thundering thud of rhythm.

We will rock you.

Ruby knows why this song means so much to the rest of them, but theirs wasn't her victory, or her loss. At the time, she was busy losing herself in drink, too afraid of herself to venture outside. It's a strange sort of amalgam, this -- the wolves howling to Queen lyrics, especially since Bohemian Rhapsody seems more appropriate for her particular situation.

She's unused to lupine displays of emotion, but even in human form it's hard to say if she'd be any less stoic. Still, Avery is happy, Avery greets her, and she greets back in kind (when in Rome...) And when thumped repeatedly by a very insistent tail, her own wags at the tip, as if the Silver Fang's buoyant enthusiasm is rubbing off. She knows, with all these happy wolves, the appropriate response is to blend in. No one appreciates the dour.

Wearing this body is like wearing shoes that are too tight, and she is new to howling. So maybe that explains why, when she joins the rest in song, her voice doesn't ring quite right. It is a rough, mourning thing.

[Samael]

Keisha arrives with her other packmates, and perhaps it's not fair but well...it's a bit easier to find the Mistress of the Howl when you have a pack connection to her. And so she comes, walking in a simple white dress with her dreadlocks beaded and falling freely around her shoulders. Her new staff still has a little work to go; it has been treated and stained and the caps have been put on but she still has some carvings to do, a few last touches to truly make it hers. She still has it with her and despite the cold she walks along in sandals, moving inexorably to the location where her packsister awaits them all. She gathers with Winona and Sophia, smiles at Phoebe and waits.

And then...

Stomp stomp clap. Stomp stomp clap.

Keisha may be a hippie peacenik now, but there was a time when she rocked out with the best of them. Queen was light listening for the girl who has a collection of Black Flag, Corrosion of Conformity and Amon Amarth albums right alongside her Fugees, Joan Baez, Flobots, Dar Williams and India.Arie LPs. But that doesn't mean the great Freddy Mercury has ever been outside of her musical tastes, and she can't help but grin when she recognizes the beat right off the bat. And so the multi-cultural girl from Unicorn's tribe, who has vowed the way of non-violence...

She joins in. She enthusiastically joins in, dreadlocks flying around her face as her whole body comes alive.

Stomp stomp clap. Stomp stomp clap.

She's not a great singer; she's no Freddy Mercury and she's no Phoebe. But she joins in the refrain immediately, shouting "COME ON!" and "CAN YOU HEAR US?" and such between lines. And at this moment she doesn't mind the chill, despite her light clothing for the cold night. They are a community and they warm each other in a way that no cold can penetrate.

-------

Javed is many things, and he has learned much in his travels. A connoisseur of popular music, however, he is not. And thus, when he arrives with Ruby at his side, he doesn't quite know what to expect. And he has a moment of confusion when people seem to recognize the beat; to him it is simply a primal rhythm. But even that assumpion is more than enough to have the same effect on this reserved, polite creature whose Rage burns deeply under his honor. And he lets it go a bit for the first time tonight and joins in. He and Avery have the same idea, and Ruby ends up in between them as these two distinctly mannered Garou--Javed in his natural Crinos form--they cut loose.

The words are not familiar to him, but the refrain is simple enough. Under normal circumstances, he would be ill-at-ease with trying to perform a popular music song like he was at karaoke. But this is more than just words. It is a primal call, and the energy is already raising around them. And this time--this rare moment--he lets go.

He is not exactly joyous or celebratory, because joyous is not a thing for him. He is the dark night to Avery's brilliant day. But Javed, that solemn creature, is a creature of emotion for the Howl, as always.