opening to the living room halfway up the long side, and the also doorless opening to the kitchen and dining room at the very top. The hall has a simple wooden floor, and decorated with a generic print of soft-colored flowers hanging on the wall to the right of the front door, and a tall table sitting under the print which serves as a place to toss keys. A closet under the stairs serves as a place to hang coats or to toss shoes.
The doorless opening to the living room is halfway up the side of the hall's J, and the word cozy might spring to mind when looking into is, as it seems to radiate comforting vibrations. A long couch sits against the south wall beneath a large bay window curtained only by sheers that manages to obscure the view in but only filters the day's light. A variety of out-of-date magazines are strewn atop a low coffee table; more neatly presented are the plethora of books filling the small bookshelves which line the eastern wall. Three chairs sit about the room, focused inward, to allow group conversations. Large floor pillows are stacked in one corner of the room, except one, which lies carelessly in the middle of the floor, apparently left out the last time it was used.
An opening in the northern end of the hallway allows access to the kitchen and dining room at the back of the house, while carpeted stairs twist up at the other end of the hall, leading to the second floor. A door at the base of the J lets out to the front porch.
The barn is built in the old style, a vast three level structure that is greater in height than a mere three stories, actually closer to five. Great wooden posts support the weight of the upper levels and roof, sunk into the hard-packed dirt floor of the first level like a sparse forest of regularly spaced, naked trees. The stalls and flagstones which once were here have been torn out to leave a rather open area where even crinos Garou may roam freely without fear of running into anything but the supports or the walls or the ladder at the back which allows access to the other two levels.
The first two levels are relatively open to each other, the second being only little wider than a catwalk going around all the walls but the front one, which has massive, twenty foot tall doors set into it. The third level is a true second floor except for a place cut out that allowed hay to be tossed down to the ground floor when the farm was actually worked. Now, it is a hayloft where Garou can sleep outside of the house.
In the back of the house, Alicia passes through the open doorway for the front part of the house.
Bernie is, currently, lying on the couch. Upside down. Which is to say, her knees are hooked over the back, her back is on the seat cushions, and her head is hanging back over the edge, curls, no longer pulled into the ponytail, dangling down to the floor. She's reading a book, and... humming to herself. Sounds like 'Lola', oddly enough. Or 'Yoda', if you're more of a Weird Al fan.
Alicia heads into the living room from the kitchen, her stride confident filled as always. Seeing the pair of feet dangling over the back of the couch, she circles quietly around, grinning. "You know, I heard you get smarter that way." She says, peering at the upside down Gnawer. "Whats up--side down?"
Bernie looks up from, well, -under- her book, and grins widely at Alicia. "Guess that 'splains me, huh?" she replies, and takes a staged look around, "an' from here? Jus' 'bout ev'rythin'..."
Alicia slips down into the couch next to her, grinning a bit. "You know.. didn't catch you or Matt 'round the farm last night. Kinda wondering where..everyone went to." She has that look about her. "I know Matt had the night off from work, and I did cook up a storm an no one came running, so obviously, I missed something important."
Bernie's already grinning, and she's already a bit pink from being upside down, so for once there's very little visible change. "Oh?" she asks casually, "...what'd you make?"
"Stuff. Ok, you so avoided the whole point of my ramble. Something's up." Alicia crosses her arms, pouting a bit. "You better tell me Bernie!"
Bernie giggles, and moves the bookmark from the inside cover of her book to the page she was on. She flips the volume closed and unhooks her legs, doing a weird and not entirely elegant little sit-up-and-twist maneuver than brings her back to the normal relation to gravity. ".....whoa," she comments, looking a little dizzy, and then shakes her head, setting the book down and quickly shaking her curls back to normal with both hands. A quick adjustment of her glasses, and she leans comfortably back against the sofa arm. "We did some trainin' kinda stuff... he showed me how t' find the caern in Lupus, an' then he an' Kaz showed me 'bout gettin' into th' Umbra. Got t' meet Kaz's pack totem, Shadow Claws. He was cool." She grins, "...a' first he though Matt was a Gnawer too; he 'proved of 'im. But Matt offered 'im his lighter as a gift thing, an' he wouldn' take it, I think maybe it was a li'l too weavery for 'im? Dunno. Was cute, though, Matt got all flustered 'bout it."
Alicia chuckles a bit and rubs the back of her neck, hmm'n to herself. "I'm not too keen on how spirits work. Ah've only been ta' th' Umbra twice now." She peers at her, wondering if there's any juicy tid bits which Bernie conveinently left out. "Well, I had a rap off with Roger. We were trading Galliardy lyrics back an forth. Which is no were as exciting of course as a romantic stroll through the Umbra at night."
The problem with sitting upright is that all that blood rushed back out of Bernie's head, leaving her paler than usual for a few moments, so the slight blush actually shows up even better than it usually does. "Oh, yeah? Like what? ...An', y'know, I think I wanna get some fresh air. Y'wanna come with?"
Alicia nods her head. "Sure, just can't go past th'barn tho'. I'm still under house arrest Adam says." She pushes herself up and grins. "Got asked ta' join another pack after my Rite too."
Bernie laughs, "Cool beans! Th' one Roger was lookin' t' join? An' th' barn'll do, it's airy 'nough..." She hops to her feet, and stretches a little. The book goes into her bag, which goes to its usual spot on her shoulder. "No one wants me in their pack yet, alas," she declares, not sounding too upset about it at present, "an' yesterday's th' only time I've been t' th' Umbra so that's no excuse," she continues teasingly, going back a few comments as she heads for the kitchen.
Alicia follows after her into the kitchen. "Well, Roger said he'd love ta' have me as a pack mate after I rite. So ah'guess he'll be voting for me or something. So..." She shrugs her shoulders back a bit, then smiles. "Not sure. Just not sure. Ah'll see where I'm at when I'm a cliath."
Bernie nods, wandering into the barn and setting her backpack aside as she stretches. "...Rar, sore. Spent way too much time in here earlier t' day..."
Alicia smiles and slips onto a haybale, glancing over to her. "Yah? Making time wi' Matt eh?" She teases, eyes sparkling.
Bernie arches a brow, and smirks, "Y'could say that... he an' I were practicin' fightin' an' other cub-type stuff... mostly. 'cause, he's th' only Fianna cub near ritin', an' th' only 'dox cub, too. So seein' as they're takin' forever already, an' I learn fast, we figure if he teaches me a lot, maybe I'll be ready by th' time they get 'round to it, an' we can both go. An' anyhow it oughta help 'im review stuff, y'know?" She hops up onto a haybale herself, and munches a cookie she'd snagged on her way through the kitchen -- one of the ones she'd made the other day, in fact.
Alicia smirks as leans back some, yawning. "Booooorrring. I wanna hear mo' kissing stuffs. Whats up with you two?" She lays on the bale, drawing one leg back to teepee her knee in the air, dangling an arm to the side. "Ah'don't get much in th'way of news unless I gotta beg it from ya'll. Anyways, th'way ah'm ganna, ah'll be rite'n soon too."
"Cool," Bernie replies, "...then we c'n all go. Sounds good t' me." She pulls her legs in to her chest, and hugs her knees with a quick grin. "'ve you see th' huge nifty boulder out near th' caern?" she queries, "...you would'n' -b'lieve- how many stars y' c'n see from there...
Alicia twirls a finger in the air. "Yah... lotsa stars.. Same ones ah've seen all my life." She says, staring up at the dark confines of the rooftops.
Bernie shrugs, "Whatever. Can't see nearly so many of 'em where I useta live, or even right outside here."
Alicia slides to her feet and smiles, heading to the door. "Hey, Ah'm ganna go get some shut eye ok? I'm wasted from all the crap ah've been doing today. I'll catch ya in the morning."
Bernie nods, and shrugs again. "Yeah, a'ight. Sleep well..." The ghost of a smirk flits over her lips before she nibbles at the cookie again, "'ll be up later."