IC: The Sun Never Sets, IC thread for The Sun Never Sets Options

[AtroposReborn]

"Yes, let us not anger the spirits of this place. Stogie, didn't you pick up a tent from those unfortunates earlier?" The elf peers off into the woods, looking for a decent campsite.

[pbangarth]

"I did, but it's a one-man tent. However, we could take shifts, seeing as we have a watch to keep."

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla nods at this.

Keeping a watch is very wise.

Summoning a spirit to help is not something I would do lightly here.

[Tecumseh]

Armed with his low-light vision and his developing powers of perception, Ellesar spots a promising spot just north of the river that passes along town. The river is low - the winter rains have not yet refilled it - and crossing it is easy. The mana begins to ease as the team leaves the town limits. Smohalla and Stogie exhale a sigh of relief, their chests no longer constrained by the mana that tightened around their hearts like a vice. Even breathing seems easier here.

Ellesar finds a spot that's indented into the steep mountainside to the north. It will shelter the team from the east-west winds that pass through the valley. Under Ellesar's direction, Stogie puts his fineblade to good use and begins to chop down small limbs that can be used for a lean-to. Smohalla's survival experience is more relevant to a bird than a man but he knows his trees; he helps point Stogie to the best limbs, as Stogie is having a hard time seeing in the forested blackness.

A fire is possible, given the abundance of wood and dry needles for kindling. The dry conditions do create a bit of a risk, although it's Ellesar's professional opinion that not making a fire would represent the greater risk. The temperature is already at freezing level and will only continue to drop until tomorrow's sunrise. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be any snow in the air; there's enough of a wireless signal here to confirm that the weather report doesn't include any precipitation for tonight. The one-man tent that Stogie picked up is more for keeping the occupant dry rather than warm. It's little more than a nylon shell, although it will be useful as a windbreaker for its sole occupant (or occupants if Jake has his way).

Water is readily available from the nearby river. Unfortunately there's nothing left of Ellie's lunch. There is the freeze-dried food that was liberated from the ill-fated bounty hunters this morning. Ellesar also has some rations, some MREs of questionable taste that manage to be high in fat yet low in flavor. Can Stogie repeat his cooking wizardry from a few days ago?!?

[phlapjack77]

How difficult will it be to ccontact those you wish to talk with?

For me, I would be unable to keep watch while I am away.

Smohalla inquires of his teammates.

[pbangarth]

"As for my contacts, they can all be reached by phone. If they are available, that is. Ellesar, can you set up the tent? I'll dig up some grub." Hmmm.... grubs would be good... wrong season though.

Stogie looks over the contents of the meal packets. He selects some "beef" of dubious origin, and a packet of freeze dried vegetables. Salt and pepper packets round out the finds. A quick trip out to the forest edge provides pine nuts and needles, as well as a few safe mushrooms. The needles he sets to slow steeping for a tea. As an after-thought, he adds some pine gum. The meat, vegetables, nuts and mushrooms and salt and pepper combine for a stew. "Well, it'll keep us alive." He puts out some kibble and meat, with a bit of the stew juice for Jake.

[AtroposReborn]

"Shouldn't be much of a problem. Tents aren't exactly foreign to me. Cooking on the other hand...well I'll leave that to you." Ellesar chuckles slightly at the thought of such an event. We'd wind up eating burnt twigs and leaves.

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla helps clear the ground beneath where the tent will be set up.

Then he takes a pot out in search of water.

Fresh or otherwise is no matter to him.

[Tecumseh]

It takes Smohalla all of 15 seconds to find water. In addition to the White River that the party crossed 100 meters ago, there's also a small stream coming off the hillside right next to camp. It's barely a trickle now - it will be bigger when the November rain arrives - but it's enough to fill a pot.

Setting up the bivy sack takes Ellesar about as long as it takes Smohalla to find water. All that's needed is to unroll it and use a single pole that keeps the fabric off the user's face while sleeping inside. Starting a small fire for dinner and tea isn't much harder. The weather has been so dry that there's an ample amount of tinder available.

Stogie looks over the ingredients for the freeze-dried food and finds that the "beef" is actually mycoprotein, so it makes a certain amount of thematic sense to mix it with local mushrooms. His stew recipe is edible, although adding pine tar to the tea gives it an astringent aftertaste. At least it's warm.

Night begins to settle in. Your breath hovers in front of you in frosty clouds. Whose idea was it to sleep outside?! This is for the bird!

[phlapjack77]

The bird has no trouble sleeping in the tree in this weather, being used to high altitudes and cold mountain tops.

A slight indigestion troubles him, whether from apprehension or from the...unique...tea that Stogie brewed, he's not sure.

Settling in for the night, he tucks his head under his wing and lets his consciousness float away.

[AtroposReborn]

Ellesar huddles up against one of the larger trees in the immediate area and prepares for the first shift. His insulated suit provides a slight buffer from the biting cold.

[Tecumseh]

Ellesar watches Stogie crawl into the bivy sack with Jake. Stogie buries himself deep in the sleeping roll, thankful that his natural immunity keeps him healthy on oppressively cold nights like these. Ellesar, meanwhile, is grateful that he paid for the top-of-the-line insulation option for his camo suit. Tonight's fire is just not kicking out as much heat as the Sisters' fire back at their camp. Ellesar intentionally keeps the fire small so as to not attract unwanted attention. He can see headlights wave by on Highway 410 back in town.

Flattening himself against a tree, Ellesar hunkers down against the wind. He exhales down his collar, warming himself slightly as the minutes slowly tick by. He stirs himself every half hour to feed the fire to keep it going. He patrols the area, moving away from the firelight to scan the hillside and surrounding forest with his low-light vision. He is secretly comforted by the cars and trucks which occasionally pass in the distance. They assure him that there is life in this place; the universe has not conspired against Ellesar to alienate him next to a burned-out town on a lonely mountainside in the woods in the autumn that feels like winter. If only he had purchased a better commlink! The Sony Emperor is an average model, and whatever wireless signal remains in Greenwater is out of reach.

The hours creep by. Finally, stiff but unharmed, Ellesar pats Stogie on the shoulder. Stogie opens his eyes to a frosty cold night. His bladder squeezes him out of the sleeping roll and into the nearby trees. Ellesar trades places with him; Jake registers the change with a passive shift in weight. Stogie marks a perimeter and then assumes his watch.

[pbangarth]

After a circuit of the camp, Stogie sits for a moment on a fallen tree. Oh, look, it's a spruce. Absent-mindedly he picks some of the gum and chews it. After a few spits, the impurities come out, and the gum turns tasty, as it cleans his teeth. He hasn't had a single cavity since he started this practice. Better than that pine gum in the tea.

The wind comes steadily from the west, so their camp is in the lee of the hill around which their little creek turns and which dampens some of it, but when the wind turns a bit north, the little creek valley funnels it right through the camp. Hmmph. getting a little lax in my camping skills. I hope the boys don't get feisty. Good visibility to the east and south, though, and the wind will carry sounds to him from the other directions. All in all, a decent place to hole up. Stogie opens to the astral to help keep track of the goings on nearby. There appear to be some trails down the steep cliffs above them, down to the east a bit. He gives special attention to those.

Lots of time on watch like this. Time to think. And remember. No, that won't do. With a shake of his head he rises and makes another circuit. Once more at his seat, he concentrates on the sounds and sights of a living landscape. Jake is snoring gently. Stogie's shotgun is at the easy across his lap. He waits.

[phlapjack77]

Smohalla's feathers ruffle in the wind, but he doesn't stir.

Far off are his travels, his dreams touching the meta-planes of existence.

The rusted chains of prison moons are shattered by the sun.

He walks a road, horizons change. The tournaments begun.

The purple piper plays his tune - three lullabies in an ancient tongue.

[Tecumseh]

Stogie paces around, rubbing his hands together to keep warm. "Keeping watch" is a misnomer when it's hard to see further than ten meters, even with superhuman perception. He stops moving for a moment to close his eyes and listen. That doesn't help much either. The wind in the trees creates enough rustling that only the most cartoonish footsteps would be audible. No, hearing won't help him tonight. What then?

He inhales deeply, smelling the fresh mountain wind. Then he smells dog. Jake's been know to break wind in his sleep, but theoretically that would be contained by the sleeping roll and bivy sack. Stogie twists in place, trying to pinpoint the direction of the smell. He follows it upwind, to the west. He looks up the steep hill just across the small creek where Smohalla drew water. He flips to the astral. The forest scene is bright; almost blinding. But between the trees, hidden amongst the bushes, he thinks he can make out a pair of eyes watching him.

[pbangarth]

The scent of dog is similar to wolf, but not the same. What is a dog doing out here? The answer seems obvious. A town burned down, and a pet got lost. A tug-of-war ensues in Stogie's mind between emotions born of losses in his own past and paranoia in a strange place at night. The emotions win. Using a shepherd's whistle command will instantly bring Jake barreling out from the sleeping bag. That might scare the stranger away. Even a gently voiced command might penetrate Jake's sleep. Maybe some sign language.

Stogie leans forward in a playful pose, one hand on each bent leg. Then he pats one thigh a couple of quick taps, ducking his head as he does so. A universal "come here" among pet owners.

[Tecumseh]

If Jake is a whore, that makes Stogie a pimp. And what can you say? Spitting mad game like only a precious few can, Stogie could probably land any bitch that he wanted. Stogie's animal magnetism is downright magical.

Stogie's deft parsing of the situation saves him from waking up Jake (and, thus, saving Ellesar a violent shock). Stogie starts to hear the jingle of the dog's collar as it approaches. Finally it emerges from the woods, a copper-red/white female Siberian husky. She has a beautiful, thick double coat, one that turns the frosty autumn air into a non-issue. Stogie knows that huskies are a working breed and are capable of going long periods of time with relatively little food. That might explain how she managed to survive on her own for so long. Greenwater burned down, what, two weeks ago?

Stogie vaguely remembers hearing about a dog breeder when the team first arrived in Greenwater, but he can't remember the details. (And what was that elf's name? Something elfy.) That would make sense, though, since this dog looks like a purebred. She has shapely triangular ears, pale blue eyes, and a charming, fluffy tail that makes her look foxy.

She doesn't run to Stogie but she cautiously approaches, sitting when she gets about ten meters away. Her white coat is dirty from being outdoors for two weeks and she's obviously lost some weight during that time too, but she seems to be getting by.

[pbangarth]

Stogie smiles at his success so far. A delicate situation to be sure. Even though huskies are a brave breed, the bitch could still turn and run at the first sign of trouble. Stogie needs to get her to trust him. Well, bribery usually works, and she looks hungry. Stogie digs out a few of the snackies he still has for Jake, and tosses them about halfway between them. Then he backs off and sits on a log, hands on his knees. In a quiet, gentle voice, he says, "OK, girl. Your play."

[Tecumseh]

Well that was easy. She's dignified enough not to race forward but it's clear that she's familiar with the concept of "snackies" and approves of them. She steps forward and bows her head to crunch the treats. She sniffs the ground to make sure she didn't miss any, then sits and looks at Stogie.

Stogie considers her in turn. It's possible that she's a show dog, given her level of control. Huskies are usually headstrong and stubborn; their masters must be equally strong-willed to handle them. It's curious that such a dog would become separated from her master, especially since there were no casualties in the Greenwater fire. Stogie knows he could never be divided from Jake, but admittedly the two of them are a special case.

Stogie must have given her the impression of being a strong leader because she sits there expectantly, seemingly in wait for a cue from him.

[pbangarth]

"OK. Well, then, girl, let's see what else you can do." Stogie stands, and walks off to the side, giving a hand signal to 'heel'. Years ago Stogie created his own set of hand signals to use at distance with his dogs, but there is no way this bitch would know those. So, Stogie uses the standard set of signals most shows use, hoping she will be accustomed to those. He heads towards the town, clearly expecting her to swing in to his left side and walk with him.

Better not go too far from the camp, though.

[Tecumseh]

If the husky knows sign language, she's not readily letting on, or she knows some different version of it. She sniffs the ground when Stogie gives the hand signal to heel. When he starts to walk, she falls in line behind him, not off to the side. She seems to be responding more to his body language than anything.

As Stogie gets maybe fifty meters away from camp, he hears a piercing howl. It spooks the husky; she stares up the hill in alarm. It's no problem for Stogie to pinpoint where it came from: up the small mountain to the north that the team climbed right after their first visit to Greenwater. It's where they encountered the wolf pack led by K'wa'iti. Other wolves at other point along the hillside join in the chorus. None of them seem too close - Stogie would guess that the nearest is at least a kilometer or two away - but it's near enough that the husky looks like she's about to bolt.

[pbangarth]

As the bitch responds to Stogie's action, Stogie gets the impression she isn't quite the pet he thought she was. OK, let's try a different tack.

Then the howling starts. Seeing the bitch's reaction, Stogie gets decisive. "Stay!" He puts everything he's got into that command and moves towards her, not aggressively, but confident she will do as she is told. His tone turns gentle, and he stands beside her, between her and where the howls originate, reaching to stroke her neck and chest. "No point in you becoming their meal tonight, girl."

Heh. That howling should get Jake up and going. Let's see how he deals with this beauty, here beside me.

[Tecumseh]

She stays. Between the forceful command and the howling, Jake is awakened. He bolts out of the bed roll, his claws digging into Ellesar as he claws for traction. Luckily, Ellesar wore his insulated (and armored) camo suit to bed, so Jake's nails don't tear into him. Still, he's rudely awakened, having only just fallen asleep a short while ago. His head spins as his mind falls back into the present.

Petting the husky's neck, Stogie brushes up against a dog collar. It jingles lightly. He feels a cold metal medallion dangling off her collar. It's too dark to read but with his enhanced perception Stogie can feel the raised lettering with his fingertips: it says "Lady" and nothing else.

Lacking a signal, Stogie long ago turned off his commlink to help preserve its battery life. Getting an idea, he turns it on now. Lady's dog collar lights up as an RFID tag. In short order, Stogie confirms her name and finds contact information for her owner. Before he can go any further he is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Jake, who barrels onto the scene and further alarms Lady. She flattens out and leans into Stogie, eyeing Jake warily as he investigates the scene thoroughly.

[pbangarth]

Stogie connects to Jake via their Attunement. He projects a sense of calm and safety. "Hey, Jake. Meet Lady. She's from around here. Lady, this is my good buddy, Jake." The dogs tentatively sniff each other's muzzles, then move on to the other end. Once, only once, long ago Stogie connected through the Attunement to Jake's sense of smell as he did this. He refrains from doing so now. Introductions having been made, well-rested Jake invites Lady for some play, his front-end down, legs stretched forward in the yoga pose Downward Dog.

"I imagine you're up, Ellesar. Come on out, I'll get some tea going. I've got a line on a contact who may have been an eye witness to what happened here."

[Tecumseh]

It's very early in the morning, just 5am according to Stogie's commlink. Ellesar has been asleep since maybe midnight so he's had some rest but would probably appreciate a little more. How easy it will be to fall back asleep after a fully grown border collie has used your legs, belly, and chest as a track is a separate issue. Plus it's freezing, and the idea of leaving the bivy sack or the sleeping roll is difficult to contemplate. Stogie's tea may not be sufficient incentive.

Lady does not seem as keen to play as Jake. She's underfed, under-rested, and probably alarmed at life in general right now. Only Stogie's steadying hand is keeping her in place. Jake relays that Lady is not in heat right now, which - all things considered - is probably for the best.