The dark woods hold nothing but shadows around the tree line of this forestry. The pitch black wolf is curled up in a ball, sleeping peacefully for the moment after a busy day of hunting and scouting with the pack. The crescent blade of the moon offers no help in lightning the path.

Three-Blades slips around a bush quietly, the soft pads on her paws sinking just slightly into the grass. Ears pricked for sound and nose alert, she turns her head briefly to look for the newmoon cub behind her. Following?

Reads-In-Dark is following, picking her way carefully through the underbrush as silently as she can manage, still getting used to relying more on her ears and nose than her eyes, especially given the darkness.

Blooms-Pain flicks her ears upwards a bit, thinking maybe she can catch a few scents on the air. Rising her head upwards, she rolls to her paws, rumbling lightly. Who goes there?

Three-Blades rumbles softly, to let the coggie cub know she is right next to the bush. Three-Blades, and new moon cub. Her tail flicks in regard to Reads. She barks softly, to give her a little reassurance that they are not strangers.

Reads-In-Dark pads up beside Three-Blades, tilting her head a bit as she looks toward the cub they're approaching.

Blooms-Pain cants her head to one side, then chuffs happily. Good moon rise! This one is definitly happy to see her friends. Bounding to them, she nuzzles each of them.

Three-Blades licks Blooms on the side of her muzzle, keeping ears up and tail higher. Still, the end wags most furiously, also showing happiness in finding who she had been looking for. Good moon rise. Scented you here. Her lupus talk clipped for the most part, she turns to Reads and chuffs. Hunt tonight? Run? Learn about wolf, with packmates.

Reads-In-Dark nuzzles Blooms happily. Good moon rise! Been busy? Missed you. She turns back to her elder, and nods slightly, still used to her human reactions in many ways. Yes.

Blooms-Pain dips her muzzle slightly in a gesture, her tail flagging from left to right. This one has hunted much in the last two sun rises. Has missed you as well.

Three-Blades licks her chops as she yawns slightly, blinking a few times. Run with us then? This one wishes to show cub a few wood things. Help teach? You know, Nightflash teach you too. Her ears flicker from side to side, an alert gesture that normally wouldn't be seen because of lack of human ear muscles. Not have to kill, just hunt, run. She dances a little lightly on her paws, maybe eager to do something different with her two friends.

Reads-In-Dark glances around at the dark forest, not her usual habitat... she sits, watching the others for a moment as they converse.

Blooms-Pain turns her gaze back to regard the two Gnawers, swishing her tail side to side. Hunt, again? This late at darkness? Perhaps, but this one is tired, Night-Flash works her hard. Lifting one of her pretty paws, she chews a burr out, spitting it to the side. Stupid thorns.

Three-Blades growls a little disappointedly, but chuffs softly - a gesture of sympathy in an almost human way. Ok. Turning to Reads, she licks the tip of the cub's nose apologetically. Maybe not hunt. How about stalk? New moon way of hunt. Quiet, then strike. An idea reaches her lupus mind, one only a human could think of. Hide and seek? In the darkness, her muzzle opens with a lupine grin.

Reads-In-Dark doesn't actually seem too terribly disappointed at not having to run all over in the darkness and possibly kill things. Go figure. She scratches absently at a sudden itch, and then stands again, stretching a little. Hide and seek? This one could go with that...

Blooms-Pain snorts at the two New Moons. Thats not fair, you two can hide in the darkness. This one is not keen yet to the ways of the wolf, thinks this would definitly be a one sided game. Licking her jawls, she rolls to the side, placing a paw under Three-Blade's chin, lifting up playfully in a swat. This one has deer in the bushes, welcome to a meal.

Three-Blades whuffles, laughing with good humor in her wolven form. Not use gifts, just wolf sense. She paws at Blooms with her own darkfurred paw. Is good? This one has not eaten not-fired animal, only fresh fish. She curls her tail and bats the tip of it playfully at Reads' nose. This one hides. You two seek. Not use gifts. Good? This one has fur to help hide in shadows only. Her golden eyes blink twice, ears canting to the side as she seeks the opinion of the two.

Reads-In-Dark glances over toward the bushes, where the deer presumably is. Not-fired deer? ...-Is- good? She seems a bit wary about it. Three-Blades gets a lupine grin. Good plan. This one does not have that gift anyway. Tim said he might teach it to this one...

The Moon Dancing Child of Gaia flickers her ears, then offers a slight shrug. This one will participate, may as well, wants to have fun out here while she waits for a new lesson. Taking a deep breath, she inhales the Elder's scent quickly, recording it to her senses.

Three-Blades turns in a circle, then hops slightly to a side. Good good! Teaching good. Smokes-Weed will teach this one your gift to break open things. She whuffs, and eyes the two cubs. Ready? Wait one wind blow, then track. She flicks her ears, sets them upright, and quickly leaps into the brush with barely a rustle.

Reads-In-Dark looks over to the other cub, not quite clear on how exactly one measures a 'wind blow'. Her tail swishes a couple times as she waits.

Blooms-Pain sniffs at the air, watching Three-Blades disapear into the thick foliage of the foresty. Turning her gaze to Reads, she offers a slight shrug, then listens for the wind.

Three-Blades turns a few trails, doubling back on her own pawtracks as she lopes around the forest. Leaving plenty of dummy scent paths as she goes and purposely breaking leaves and twigs, she finally finds a resting place in the hollow of a small ditch between two roots of a forest tree. Sniffing the wind, she listens as the breeze rustles the leaves for a minute or so, then fades away.

Reads-In-Dark cocks her head as the wind dies down. A wind blow, this one thinks... She lifts her muzzle a bit, sniffing the air, and then lowers it to the dirt Three-Blades was occupying shortly before. She begins to amble along the cliath's path. Ready or not, here this one comes...

Blooms-Pain follows after Reads, her muzzle lowered to the ground, following along the Elder's trail. Perking her ears, she listens to the wind as best she can, cutting a bit to the left to open up a wider arc for the two cubs, to cover more ground. Her dark pelt blends in perfectly with the shadows, but she has a long way to go to learning how to hide herself and cover her tracks.

Three-Blades waits patiently, using her sense of hearing to listen for paws touching the earth. Herself in training, she filters out the beating of her heart, the light exhaling of her breath, and the rustling of the leaves to try and decipher a possible direction the cubs would be coming from. She slides down onto her haunches for the moment, keeping herself still and trying to blend into the darkness enhanced bark of the tree behind her.

Reads-In-Dark picks her way along as quietly as she can manage, doing her best to avoid twigs and leaves and the like as she follows the scent trail. She reaches a dead end, of course, and ponders a moment before sitting lightly and scanning the area, looking for good hiding places. Then she turns around and follows it back, checking the edges more carefully.

Blooms-Pain sniffs around carefully, already knowing this place by heart. As per her rhya's instructions. Working her way around the thicker parts of the foliage, she ducks herself as low as she can, remembering when he taught her how to hunt deer. Sniffing, she inhales deeply of her surroundings, allowing the wind to hopefully tell a tale.

Three-Blades ducks a little further into the bark of the tree as the wind decides to blow around the tree, catching the cliath's scent and carrying it into the brush. Her ear flicks and she rises up to her paws. Time to move. As quietly as she can, she takes a second to sniff in the direction of the cubs, then circles around the tree before slipping into the brush once more. Her paws carry her over a deer path, where her sharp nose senses the deer scent as well as Bloom's from before. Not quite able to decipher the past scent from present yet, she halts, glancing around to see if the two cubs have found their way closer, and are just waiting for her to become lax in her alert state.

Reads-In-Dark finds a place where the scent branches off, and turns that way, following it through the brush quietly.

Blooms-Pain lifts her head up only slightly, ear tips peeking out of the brush, hidden by darkness. She catches the Elder's scent and slowly, creeps her away towards the Elder, her paws softly touching the ground.

Three-Blades taking a few more minutes to scent around, rumbles quietly to herself in thought. Her tail held against her hind legs swishes softly against her hind legs as she continues smelling Blooms' scent, and yet can't figure out whether or not the scent is old. Standing stock still except for the slight movement of her tail and ears, Blades remains puzzled in the dark.

Reads-In-Dark comes upon the tree, and the particularly strong concentration of scent where Three-Blades had been hiding. She looks around curiously, including up in the tree... can wolves even climb trees? Something to try out later... She circles the base of the tree, trying to find the new path.

Blooms-Pain continues to stalk towards the Elder, body low to the ground, hoping that the breeze will carry over her. Her eyes narrow, stalking carefully. As she circles around, she makes her way behind Three-Blades, crouching, ready to strike. Unfortuantly, her excitement gets the best of her, and she's oblivious to the brittle twig beneath her paw. *Crack*

Three-Blades turns suddenly at the sound, ears zipping up as she homes in on the source of the sound. Ha! The chase is on, as she takes off into the brush, running back towards the tree she was hiding at.

Reads-In-Dark freezes in place for a second as the silence is suddenly broken, first by one broken twig, and then more... the sounds seeming to approach. Her ears twitch, taking it in, and then she grins wolfishly and slips as quietly as she can around to the spot Three-Blades had been hiding in, doing her best to quickly hide there herself. The mottled black and brown of her fur blends in decently with the bark and shadows; a good thing given her inexperience with this form.

Cursing herself mentally, she takes off in leaps and bounds after the elder new moon. She's not as quick as Three-Blades, but she does have a distinct advantage. Home turf. Giving chase, she easily ducks and dodges the falling logs and branches, closing in on the speedier one. Capturing Reads scent on the air, she cuts to the left, trying to heard the Elder towards her friend.

Three-Blades dodges a low hanging branch as her path takes her through the brush. Almost like the deer Blooms chased down, she zips back and forth instead of a straight path, opting to use her agility to duck and leap under and over the obstacles along the way. Her run takes her right around the tree she'd been hiding under, and in her rush she only smells Reads' scent but doesn't see where the newmoon cub hides.

All right... timing, timing... Reads-in-Darkness tenses as the noises get nearer, and the running wolves begin to be somewhat visible. As Three-Blades runs by, the Ragabash cub leaps from her hiding place, hoping to time it right to pounce upon her elder...

Blooms-Pain grins ferally as she makes a wider arc, trying to drive the Elder between the two cubs, lashing out as well in a pounce. She dives for the older one as Reads leaps from the other side, hoping to catch Three-Blades completely off guard.

Three-Blades yips as a shadow comes jumping out at her from her hiding spot, tumbling backward in a flurry of paws and rolling. Playful growls utter from her throat as Blooms joins the pile. The three of them tussle for a bit, as TB tries to pin down Reads and fend off the coggie cub with swipes of her tail.

Reads-In-Dark tries to defend herself, and perhaps pin the cliath instead... she doesn't do so well at the latter, but does manage to keep herself unpinned for a reasonable period. She's got size on her side, at least, and two-against-one doesn't hurt either. Found!

Blooms-Pain barks loudly in play, ducking away from the tail as she sways it by her paws, clamping her jaws down upon one of TB's rear legs, holding it back. She gets a face full of tail once more, but continues to hang on. Her bite is gentle, not enough to draw blood.

Three-Blades shakes her hind leg vigorously to try and release the coggie cub's hold, turning to nip at Blooms' muzzle. Her attention divided between the two, she finally concedes as Reads' two forepaws knock her over. Ok! Ok! I give. She twitches her tail in front of Reads' nose and then nips Bloom again.

Reads-In-Dark makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like what might happen if a wolf tries to giggle, and tries to catch the twitching tail in her jaws, making light snaps at it as it moves.

Blooms-Pain grins and places her paw over the Elder's head, wagging her tail back and forth. Cubs one, Elders none. Taking the nips, she gives in return, wiggling around in excitement.

Three-Blades rumbles softly, getting back up and nudging the both of them. Good job, good job. Shows you two can work together well, yes? Giving her dark fur a shake, she lifts her head and sniffs the air. So now that you have found me, do you think you can track back to where we came from?

Reads-In-Dark rights herself, and looks around appraisingly, sniffing the air herself. ....yes... She looks to Blooms, who seems more familiar with the area, and ought to be, given her time here, and gives her a quick thank you nuzzle. You lead?

Blooms-Pain nuzzles her cub friend back and lolls her tongue, then yips. This way. Follow your scent back, look for the broken branches of our paths. This becomes easier in time. Turning around, she lopes back through the foliage. Come, we eat deer next.

Three-Blades lolls her tongue and wrinkles her muzzle, perhaps at the thought of the blood. But hey, that's what experiences are about aren't they? She nudges Reads to follow Blooms as she takes up the rear of the mini-pack.

Reads-In-Dark blinks once. Following her -own- scent hadn't even occurred to her... she lopes along behind Blooms, though, taking her route back. She also looks less than utterly thrilled at the idea of eating some raw meat, but that's what wolves do, right? So...

Blooms-Pain leads them back through to the pack lands, easily tracking herself and the other's trails. Sensing the other's reluctance to eat deer, she chuffs in play. You get used to it after awhile. The first bite is always the hardest

Three-Blades offers a short bark in reply. Well, from what Wendigo said, there are different tastes to every creature out in the woods.

Reads-In-Dark just follows, sitting down as they return to where they began, tail twitching. Hurry, before this one loses her nerve... She eyes the bushes where the deer was earlier indicated to be.

Blooms-Pain heads over to the brush and dips her muzzle into the thick leaves. Snagging something, you can hear a rip and a tear. Backing up, she drags over a large piece of what looks like a leg and thigh, dropping in front of the two Gnawers. Its bloody, but very much meaty.

Three-Blades sniffs experimentally, scenting the blood and slight rot to the carcass before her. Doesn't smell same as apefood. A tongue flickers out as she dips her muzzle lower and licks. Tastebuds take a small sample of fur and muscle, brushing over the venison. Blades snorts, but finds that the taste to a wolf isn't too bad.

Reads-In-Dark eyes the leg, and sniffs at it tentatively. Then she gets her nerve up and leans in to tear a piece of from a more meaty and less furry area, and chews it once or twice before swallowing. Prefer chocolate. But better than sister's cooking.

Blooms-Pain watches the two with a slight grin, then cants her head to the side. Laying on her belly, she watches the Gnawers have their first meal with a dead animal.

Three-Blades worked up an appetite after all that running about, and shows it by chewing up one side of the haunch. The muscle of the deer quickly disappears down her gullet as she devours the hefty piece alongside her tribal sister. Not bad at all. Not quite like chicken.

Reads-In-Dark tears off a few more pieces, then glances back the way Three-Blades originally brought her. Should go back soon. She noses the deer lightly and looks over to the other cub. Thank you.

Blooms-Pain dips her head in a nod, tail playing against the ground lightly. You are welcome sister. It was great to see you again. Have missed you all so much, gets lonely here sometimes. Tapping her paws along the ground, she arches her back out.

Reads-In-Dark dips her head in return. Have missed you too... this one will come visit you, now that this one knows where to look. With that she wanders over to give her friend a lick on the muzzle, and then heads back int he basic direction of the Farmhouse.

Three-Blades finishes the rest of the haunch and gnaws a few times on the bones. Yep, she was hungry. With a quiet yawn and a lick around her jaws, she snuffles lightly at the cubs. Would have to get used to this, chasing down your food. She gives Blooms a soft chuff. We'll come and run with you. This one hopes Nightflash does not mind. He will smell our scent, and maybe think we are trying to intrude. Her head dips in a small shrug. But this is bawn. Again, she gives Blooms a small rub against her side. We'll be back. Next time, don't eat so much. A whuffle, and she trots after Reads.

Blooms-Pain notes this and watches the two head off, then lets a slight chuff pass. Good evening, May Luna guide your paths home my friends. This one will let Night-Flash be aware of your comings and goings. He should not mind. With that, she turns and slips back to her warm spot along the ground.

[Farmhouse: Hallway and Living Room]

The front door opens with little fanfare, and Bernie wanders in. Suddenly noticing how cold it it outside as the warm indoor air meets a gust from outside, she turns to shut the door again, as soon as Yi's far enough inside.

Matt is sleeping on the couch, surrounded by the St. Claire newspaper. Several sections are scattered near to hand, most notably the comics and real estate sections, the latter of which is marked with an arcane collection of circles, boxes and connecting lines. The gust of cold air doesn't seem to stir him at all, and only the rise and fall of the 'Weekend' section indicates he is still among the living.

Yi shakes some leaves from her hair as she steps in, nodding in thanks to Bernie. At the moment she is wiping off some blood from the deer that they were eating, testing it with her human tastebuds this time and wrinkling her nose with an 'ick' motion. "Will definitely have to get used to it," she murmurs softly to Bernie.

Bernie glances toward the couch, which she left her backpack beside when she left, and smiles slightly at the sight of the sleeping cub. "....yeah," she replies to the other Gnawer, a bit absently, and wanders over to the sofa, gently picking up and neatly folding the sections, setting them in a pile on one of the couch's arms. The Real Estate one she retains for the moment, scanning the various ads and markings. "...overall, I say, gimme a burger anyday..."

Yi keeps her chuckle quiet, glancing at Matt on the couch. "What's that?" she asks the cub curiously, eyeing the Real Estate sections.

Almost in response to the movement nearby, Matt frowns in his sleep, murmuring something incoherent. He turns on the couch, pinning the 'Weekend' between himself and the back of the sofa.

"Real Estate section," Bernie replies, "...y'know, 'partments, condos, fabulous beachfront mansions with twenny-seven bathrooms anna parquet tennis court..." She carefully finishes folding it, but slips it down between her backpack and the side of the couch instead of adding it to the pile. That done, she eyes the pinned 'Weekend' section -- to try for it, or not to try for it? Putting one hand on the sofa back, she leans over the Fianna and tries to snag the paper with the other hand.

Yi smirks, and thinks for a moment. Then, gathering a small lock of her hair, she uses the end of it to tickle Matt's neck on the other side in an attempt to flip him over and off the newspaper section.

Matt's frown deepens, though his eyes do not open. Letting out a defensive sounding moan, he recoils from Yi's hair, almost off the couch entirely. "...nag rhagor, os gwelych yn dda..." he mutters.

Bernie quickly plucks the paper from its place, but just drops it behind her for now and leans in slightly, hands moving to make sure Matt -doesn't- fall off the couch entirely. For one thing, with her standing right there, he'd probably take her down with him if he did.

Yi relents from her tickling as Bernie snags the paper away from under the sleeping cub. She giggles softly, giving her fellow newmoon a small wink. "Perhaps we shouldn't bother him anymore," she grins.

Matt snaps awake, jerking away from Bernie and putting his arms up defensively over his face and head before realizing the woman standing over him isn't who his nightmare-addled brain thinks it is. "No...Whot...Books?" he stammers.

Bernie winces slightly, and nods, sitting down on the very edge of the couch beside him in a nice, nonthreatening manner. "Hey," she greets him, "...sorry. We di'n' mean t' wake you up... 's jus' me an' Yi."

Yi grins and nods, lowering into a crosslegged position beside the couch. "Evening," she greets with a small smile.

Matt uncurls somewhat, and manages a weak smile. "No bovver, really," he manages. "Oi 'adn't planned on kippin' on the sofa anyway." He sits up a little and runbs his head. "Bad dream anyway," he adds.

Bernie nods, and leans down to retrieve the Weekend section, folding it up neatly and reaching around Matt to place it atop its siblings. "Sorta got that impression, from th' wakin' up bit, I mean... you 'kay?"

Yi yawns softly, blinking a few times as well as rubbing around one of her eyes. "Eh, I think I'm going to 'hit the hay'," she says to the two cubs. Getting up, she stretches her arms over her head, then loosens up a little before nodding to the two cubs. "Good night you two. Don't stay up too late. Nightmares are sometimes just dreams..." she quirks the side of her lip upwards softly, then pushes the door open to head out to the barn.

Matt nods. "Sure. Foine." His hand strays to his opposite shoulder, sliding under his shirt to rub the scar tissue on his neck. "G'night, Three Blades."

"G'night, Yi," Bernie calls after her elder, "...thanks for th' teachin' an' all..." She turns back to Matt, still looking mildly concerned. Two and two have been put together, and she's fairly sure the answer she got is four... "...so," she remarks, changing the subject completely as she reaches down and produces the Real Estate section, "...been lookin' inta other options for if th' one you found doesn't work out?"

Matt smiles. "Yeah. Lookin' at maybe rentin' somewhere, if they don't need ta see much i.d. Oi'm startin' ta get a bit stir-crazy 'ere, now that there are more cubs stuck 'ere. Bohemian Decadence isn't whot it used ta be."

Bernie nods a bit, glancing toward the stairs. "Doesn' bother me that much; 'course, I've always shared a room with my sisters, so hey." She scans the paper again, "...so do I get t' come visit an' all when y' move...?"

Matt grins a bit more broadly, finally drawing a hand away from his scars. "Oi suppose. You goin' ta 'elp carry boxes?"

Bernie glances sidelong at Matt, and grins back. "Yeah, 'course. I mean, wouldn' wanna make ya cart all your massive boatloads of belongin's 'cross town all by your lonesome. What're friends for, right?" She giggles, "Hell, I'll even track down a suitable housewarmin' present... now lessee, what would you need?"

Matt shrugs. "Name it. Not loike I managed ta salvage the good china from me parents'. Oi'll be lucky not ta sleep on the floor.

Bernie giggles. "Bohemian Decadence, part deux... at least it'll be familiar, yeah? I'll see 'f I c'n come up with a solution for th' floor bit, then." She ponders a few moments, and then grins, "...got a couple thoughts already, act'ly." She offers the section of the paper back to him.

Matt flips through the paper again, absently. Much like before a solution has not leapt out unasked. Surely, somewhere in St. Claire, the perfect lair for Matt waits to be found.

"...we could go looking again sometime?" Bernie suggests, somewhat tentatively, "...like, check somea these places out, see if they got nice views or... whatever. Comfortable floors." She grins again, fleetingly.

Matt nods. "Sure. Oi'll call a few from work tomorrow. See if we can't get inta a couple. Shouldn't be too busy onna Sunday."

Bernie nods back, "True, 's a point." She looks a bit relieved. "So when d'ya work t'marra then? Y'know, so I c'n plan an' all an' not be off bein' fed venison sushi when it's time t' go."

Matt makes a face. "Venison sushi? Nevermind. Oi work in th' mornin'. Oi'll call a few places and see whot we can look at in the evenin'. Fair?"

"Well, I was a wolf at th' time, so 's not that bad, really. Better'n mosta what I ate whenever it was Lola's turn t' cook. So..." she explains, with a half-smile, and shrugs. "Fair. I'll be 'round here then, then." She regards him for a few seconds, and then glances away, with the ghost of a sigh. "So anyhow I figure 'f you got work in th' mornin' an' you're fallin' asleep on th' couch, those'd be signs you prolly oughta head up an' partake in th' Decadence, yeah?"

Matt nods, ruefully. "Join me? Oi can offer you all th' pleasures of th' Two-Leg form, loike pillows, and climate control."

Bernie laughs. "I'm all over pillows an' climate control... throw in a nice comfy cover of some sort an' I'm yours." She immediately blushes a shade as possible intrepretations of that register, and covers it by leaning over to retrieve her backpack, curls cloaking her face for the moment. Sitting up again, she slips the bag onto her shoulder, and reaches up to push the curls back behind her ear. "Up, up, an' away?"

Matt grins, standing stiffly. "Oi fink a cover of some sort can be arranged." He extends a hand--'after you'-- and follows Bernie upstairs.