Devil's Tower

Week Fifteen-Friday Evening

Who:Kahea and Grey
Where:Wolf Farm House
When:Early Friday Evening
What:It's been raining off and on all day, making Kahea aggitated. She hates cold.
Rating:PG-13 for Kahea's language when she get's ranting

( She's cold and wet and mad )

Who: Grey & Poe and eventually Jax
What: Grey goes sneaking around Jackal territory and gets caught in more ways than one
When: Tuesday mid-morning
Where: Jackal Territory, on a path to the Vance Copper Mines
Rating: R let's just go with R


Grey was sitting at the kitchen table early Tuesday morning, as the whole 'family' was gathered in the main rooms to eat breakfast. It was a tradition that usually brought Grey some feeling of security and peace, but today his mind was anything but settled. Yesterday he had received an invitation to a meeting of the Tribal Leaders by the Jackals. He was apprehensive about it to say the least and had tried to push all of his doubts out of his mind, but then Sox had told him something odd.

Sox had been one of the many local kids who's parents had not had the burial that Grey's had. They had died when most of the adults had and as such their burial had been a mass one into the Vance Copper Mines. It hadn't been nice, but at the time it had been the last resort when bodies were piling up around the city. So like many, Sox had always grieved for his parents at the Mines. According to Sox, he had gone down like he had every month when there was peace to grieve, but had stopped just inside of the forest's edge. What he had told Grey was the he had caught sight of a full guard around the Mines.

That was in no way normal, and it just didn't sit right with Grey; just like nothing had since the Jackals had come to Sundance. After Grey had finished his chores that morning, he had taken off into the city and toward the Mines. Something was really bugging him about the whole thing, and since this Jax character was playing the 'peace' card Grey didn't think he was likely to harm a Tribal Leader the day before such an important meeting. It was a risk, but Grey had never really been known for his levelheadedness.

That lack of focus when it came to being careful was likely the reason the Grey found his feet falling through the earth as he was walking down the path outside of the city toward the mines.

As his head hit the ground, all Grey could think was 'get your knife out' and it was the first thing he did after quickly scrambling back onto his feet. There was a pang in his knee, where the force of the impact had obviously jammed something, but that;s not where Grey's focus was. No his eyes were darting around the bottom and top of the pit he had found himself in.

When he found himself alone, he hugged the edges waiting with baited breathe for round two, but round two didn't come. After half an hour Grey started to yell for help.

Who: Jax and invited leaders/associates (Wolf, Grey, Jed, Sensei, Hawk and Kestral)
Where: Waffle House on Highway 14 at the intersection of Wolf and TF territory
When: Sunset
Why: Because deception is fun!

It had been difficult to decide on a location for the meeting. Jax wanted something that was at once neutral for everyone, but at the same time, compromising on his part. He wanted to show the other tribes that he was not afraid to be around them with no weapons. It was a demonstration in sincerity, even though in truth there was not an ounce of sincerity about the whole thing. In the end he chose the Waffle House on the highway because it was in a kind of no-man's land, but also sandwiched right between Wolf and Twin Feather turf.

In his letter he'd specified that each leader only bring one companion and that everyone came without weapons. The first specification he'd honored by choosing to only bring Lawliss along with him. Lawliss was always good at keeping Jax in check and he was the best person to have on your side should the need for close hand to hand combat arise. However, when it came to the second specification Jax broke his own rules. He always had his switch blade with him no matter what and so even as he sat on the bar of the Waffle House awaiting the other leaders, it was tucked safely inside his boot.

Thankfully enough of the lightbulbs still worked in the restaurant for them to see by. It was only a matter of time before the first leader would arrive. Jax wasn't nervous, he was trained extensively for this sort of thing. "Lawliss, my friend, are you ready?"


((OOC: Tag to Lawliss first, and then anyone can jump in as they see fit!))

Identical letters delivered to all the tribe leaders on Sunday by the same messenger who delivered the first letters.

( Dear Friend... )

Saturday: Mid afternoonish, Week Fourteen.

Who: OPEN to ANYONE to hears her screams just tumble on in!
What: Kahea comes across Belle Fourche and a little trouble....
When: Saturday Week Fourteen
Where: Belle Fourche River and MOVED to Gent's River Boat.
Rating: PG-13 for Language and situation
Status: IN PROGRESS and STILL OPEN! ^.^

Kahea shifted the sacks on her back. Even though the sun wasn’t as hot as Texas or California, it still made her sweat, making her load just a little bit more uncomfortable at times. Anela was running in between her feet again, and almost caused her to trip a few times. “Anela, enough! I know you’re hungry, but we can’t eat now, we have to wait at least until sundown. Save food, remember?” Anela looked up at her with her emerald green eyes and mewed. Kahea stuck her tongue out at her and kept walking. She fought the urge to pop an ear bud into one ear and listen to her iPod, but she needed to conserve the power as much as possible. Instead she lost herself in thought, trying to remember what she had been told at her last two “city” stops. The first one, a source told her that there had been no military forces coming through that town ever. But they had heard a rumor of a unit of some sort up in Wyoming somewhere. “Oh, where am I now?” she had asked the man. “What remains of Salt Lake City, Utah.” How she came to Utah in the first place, she had no idea. Her initial direction was north, to Washington, but little by little she strayed east and was somehow lucky enough to come across some viable information about her brother. Her sense of direction sucked, and she knew it, so from then on she took better care to pay attention to the direction of the sun and head directly the way she was told to go to find the next town who had rumored to have a “run-in” with a military unit of some kind. In that town, what remained of Casper, Wyoming, she asked questions again about possible military forces and described her brother’s features. This is where she had received her first inch of real hope in years of wandering and looking. They told her about a small unit of about four men who came through and stayed a few days in the town and also tried to “recruit” some of the men in town to join them for some kind of an uprising against something or someone. They didn’t get anyone to go with them but Kahea was told that the man fitting her description carried with him a picture that he was always looking at. That’s when Kahea got brave and took out her iPod to show them the picture of her brother so that she could be 100% sure it was him. The people in the small building, used to be hospital, all nodded in agreement that one of those men was her brother. “Where had they come from?" She asked. If she could retrace his steps, she just might discover where he was going. “I think they came down from Sundance,” spoke up one young woman. “I think I overheard one of them saying something about Sundance.” “Where is that?”

Now she was headed to Sundance. And hopefully she was in the right direction. ( continue )

Who: Wolf and Grey
Where: The Farm
When: Thursday morning
Why: A meeting concerning Jax's letter

As much as Wolf wanted to just stay at Libby's side, locked up in the white house, he still had leadership durites that he could not ignore. There were ungodly amounts of work that still needed to be done at the farmand in the city. Not only were the Wolves working to repair their old territory, but now they were working to help their new friends the Carrion rebuild the southern half of the city. Wolf was more or less busy from dusk until dawn and hadn't had much of a chance other than through short letters and messages, to communicate with Grey other than letting him know that Libby was back and sharing the information that she had with him. When he received the letter from Jax he decided that he had to share it with Grey as soon as possible.

He had planned to meet Sensei later in the day and so he rode to the farm first thing in the morning. Things were much better with Grey in him, in fact he was sure that they'd never been better. Somehow this second war had really brought them together, and now they had a kind of understanding with each other that they'd never really had before. It was a relief, and that tribe was much stronger for it. Wolf tethered his horse near the barn and sat down on the steps of the front porch to wait for Grey. The farm was buzzing with people trying to clean things up and rebuild. Wolf took Jax's letter from his pocket and re-read it while he waited for Grey.

Who: Grey & Yeates
Where: The Farm
When: Wednesday Afternoon
Why: Cleaning up and trying to keep his mind off things he shouldn't think about

Libby had come back to the tribe more than a few days ago and she had come with an unlikely partner in Saint. Saint was someone that Grey had never liked the look of and now that he was being hailed a hero in their tribe, Grey couldn't quite look him in the eye and thank him. Luckily Wolf had been more than obliging on that count and so Grey had not had to. That combined with the information they had received on this Jax character had left Grey reeling once again. This time, however, Grey had decided to ignore it all. He had decided that there was nothing he could do and so what was the point of brewing over it.

Some might have said it was Grey turning over a new leaf, but the truth was he was just tired. The war had been a living hell especially considering that it had started when there was so much emotional turmoil between he and Wolf. Oddly enough the two were now closer than they really ever had been. It honestly was the only good thing that had come out of the war in Grey's opinion. There had been so many lost, and for what? The Mountain Lions were now no more, but it hadn't even been their doing and now there was someone new that they would have to deal with. And Grey didn't have high hopes that this guy wasn't as bad and Saint and Libby were making him out to be.

Looking over the fields Grey sighed and shook his head. He didn't want to think about it and he was determined not to. What he was determined to do was to start cleaning up what the war had left, which was mountains of debris all over the farm and the city. Looking around it looked like an unsurmountable task, but it had to be done. They had kept most of the fields clean of debris throughout the war, hell they had even managed to get in their crops. Mostly because they knew if they didn't than this war would have been for nothing at all. However the Pastures and the roads were another story. Makeshift barricades littered them, and with each barricade there was blood sweat and tears, which was in truth what made them so hard to take down.

So many good people had been lost in this war and Grey was still trying to figure out why. In truth all Grey wanted to do was sit back and say fuck it to everything political in nature. He would be more than happy to live with his makeshift and ever expanding and contracting family and just run the farm. That wasn't exactly reality though, at least it wasn't at this junction. No right now he had to be strong and clean up everything to show that they were going to get past this and that it was worth something in the end. Too bad he couldn't convince himself.

Letters delivered to three tribe leaders on Monday around noon. The letters are delivered by three unfamiliar messengers who refuse to answer questions; they simply drop off the letters and then leave.

( Letter addressed to Wolf )

( Letter addressed to Jed )

( Letter addressed to Hawk and Kestral )

***OOC: Although Jax did not write to the Carrion, once Wolf makes the deal with them that they can remain autonomous, Wolf will certainly share the letter with Sensei and bring Sensei to any future leader meetings, etc. Also, Wolf will take the letter to Grey and see what he thinks.

Who: Yeates and Grey
what: Yeates intercepts Grey's meandering through the house,  and engages him in a little brother chat
When: Thursday morning
Where: The house, the front room to be exact, on the very threadbare couch he loves soo much.


Yeates didn't like this one bit.  He's tried very hard not to ask her to stay and let someone else take care of it, her body had been so lovely and warm tucked in right next to him that he almost actually put up a real fight.  He was one step away from loosing all sense and telling her he'd lock her in the room if she actually thought to leave him.  She'd left flipping him off good naturedly, after kissing him goodbye, and gone to take care of those pesky and slightly dangerous animals out there that planned to have small children for dinner.  He knew English was very capable of taking care of herself and others but now that his preservation and protectiveness kicked in he really hated letting her out of sight...not to mention looking at her was one of his favourite past times.  He watched her longingly as she flitted about the house, as she played with the children and Wren...

But now he stared at the ceiling, sprawled out on his favourite couch in the whole house, feet dangling lazily over the edge as he counted the hours until she returned.  It'd been quiet around the farm for once, he hadn't seen his brother storm through the house and hadn't heard him break anything that might not be fixable afterwards.  He'd even noticed that he'd finally left the house last week and though he was pleased about al this progress he hadn't had a chance to get to talk to his elder brother.  Sure Grey probably knew that Yeates was there for him but sometimes he felt these things still needed to be said.  But Grey was feeling very 'insidey' he'd noticed and so he'd trodden lightly around him, not really feeling a fight was in order, afterall why should he add to the injuries that pretentious prick (who saved his life) had already given him.  Yes, as much as he wanted to kick Wolf into the ground he knew that this was not the best course of action so had occupied himself with other things.

The other things were out right now...and so here he was lying on his back like a lazy toad and wondering if they had any milk for a cup of tea.

Who: Grey & Marmie
What: Grey's out trying to clear his head and runs into someone new
When: Mid-Morning Saturday
Where: The edge of Twin Feather territory south of the river
Rating: TBD

There were days when nothing made sense, and everything seemed to be spinning around you. Well for Grey it hadn't been just one day, it had been a week. Time had been running away from him and everything seemed to happen so fast. Friday had melted away as he had let himself just stop. Today unfortunately was the step he had been dreading.

Grey had woken up early and had gotten his chores down to look up and have found the long hand on the clock had only moved half way round the face. This was the day were everything stopped and he came to reality of the situation. Everything had gone wrong and no player in the scene was innocent. He should have admitted the truth of the matter to Nova instead of playing if off on her brother, and he should have gone directly to Wolf when she went missing. Nova shouldn't have run off in a snow storm, and she shouldn't have moved on as quickly as she did. Wolf shouldn't have made it a fight when Nova and Grey started dating, and he likely should have taken time to find out all of what happened. They all should have done better, but they didn't and now the whole tribe might pay for it. It was an ugly reality staring into Grey's bruised face. The problem was he didn't know how to fix it.

He had gotten on his horse that morning after saddling him and had left the Farm. He just needed a day to think everything through. There was always a way, and he needed to find one fast. He couldn't go to Wolf, that would be a dangerous move at the moment. They were both too mad at each other and the world for it to help at the moment. He could go to Nova, he wasn't ready. So that left him with just running the farm and pretending everything was fine. He wasn't sure that was a good option, but it seemed like the only way.

Time was passing slowly, but Grey had made it out into open country and it felt good not to be at home, even if it was just for a day. He hadn't really been paying attention to anything other than the sky and the sound of the river, when he came upon someone.

Who: Dusty and Grey
What: Looking for a place to stay for a while
When: Afternoon
Where: Wolves' Farm
Rating: TBD

Ryder had been kind enough to show Dusty the way to the Wolves' farm, and this morning, Dusty prepared to make contact with the farm leader. He hoped to get an idea of what kind of people resided here, and, if he was lucky, take the first steps in establishing a new home here. With his greatly diminished herd following him, he rode toward the farm house. It seemed like a decent bit of land, well kept for the most part. He dismounted Moo and wrapped the reins around a fence post before patting the horse's neck for reassurance. "I won't be long, buddy. Just stay put for a bit."

He casually wandered up the pathway to the house, taking in the sights. It wasn't all that different from his home back in Texas, which at once comforted and depressed him. His own house had not felt the same since the virus. He had tried to carry on like normal, keep things running, but the house felt cold and empty, and was far too quiet. He needed to leave and move on for his own sanity, not just for practicality.

Finally at the doorway, Dusty knocked and waited for a reply.

Who: Wolf and Grey
Where: The farm
When: Thursday mid to late morning
Why: Wolf can’t wait any longer to tell Grey exactly how he feels…

Wolf had waited long enough to visit the farm this season. It wasn’t like him to wait so long to visit, as during the right season he was there every few days to work and speak with Grey. Grey and Wolf… those that knew them wouldn’t have neccesarily called them friends. They maintained a more business like relationship, each doing what the other didn’t want to in an effort to maintain what was important to them both. For Grey, it was the farm and the life he’d always known there, and for Wolf it was to protect Libby and Nova, to give them a chance at a better future. Their relationship had been on stable ground until their personal lives had violently colided through Nova and Grey’s relationship. Now Wolf hated the man that he once had so much trust in, and it was time to let him know it.

Wolf got up at dawn, before most of the city Wolves were awake. He saddled his horse and rode south of the city to the open fields east of the farm. He ran his horse until it was drenched and panting beneath him, and he felt that at least part of his own temper was in check. He plodded slowly to the farm dismounting as he came into the first cultivated field. People smiled and waved at him, calling greetings and joking with him. He tried to offer him what smile he could muster, but his heart was set on letting Grey have a piece of his mind. He caught Jan, a younger stable hand by the arm as he was leaving the barn.

“Oh, hi Wolf, wow your horse looks tired…”

“Yeah, I know, listen. Could you go get Grey and tell him to come to the barn?” Wolf smiled at the boy.

“Sure. I’ll go find him.” Jan smiled and ran off towards the house.

Wolf smiled back, feeling his stomach turn at the thought of seeing Grey after so long. He left his horse outside the back of the barn and walked inside. The barn was an older one and so sunlight streamed in in duty beams from the slats in the roof. Wolf crossed his arms over his chest and waited in the closed barn for Grey.

Who: Grey and English
When: Around 3AM Tuesday morning
Where: In the farmhouse's kitchen
What: Grey gets hungry and comes out of his brooding bedroom.
Rating: PG 13 for violence and swearing

Since Jed had left on Friday only a handful of people had seen Jed and those were the few that had watched him storm up to his room. He hadn't said a word. To be completely honest he didn't know how to. What exactly could he say to the realization that the person he had been in a relationship with, the person that he had thought was dead for the last few months not only was not dead but was with someone else. It wasn't even honestly that Grey knew how to handle. All he wanted to do was go and hunt Hawk down and kick the living shit out of him never mind what he thought he might do to Nova. She had let him believe she was dead. Although logic would tell anyone that Nova likely didn't think that Grey had thought she was dead, logic wasn't on the table. It had abandon Grey just as quickly as Grey had abandoned the idea that Nova was dead. The one thing he did know was that doing what he wanted to do would get him killed and would put his tribe in a bad position, so instead of taking his horse to the Twin Feathers to inflict some sort of ex-lover's justice, he had locked himself in. There had been multiple knocks on the door and pleading voices. Everyone might have thought everything was alright had there been anguish or screaming, but all anyone had heard was the nails going into the boards that were blocking the window and the door.

By the time Tuesday rolled around he had not slept in day and it showed. Deep circles had formed under his eyes and his knuckles were red from clenching and clenching his fists. Never mind that his hair was greasy where sweat had formed from doing push-ups and sit-ups and any of the other exercises he had done to stop himself from killing anyone. His clothes likely stank from the sweat as well and the fact was he didn't care. It wasn't like he was going to slit his wrists, no he wasn't that type. Nor did he think that death was better than this. The problem was he just didn't even know how to begin to process and deal with anything. He didn't know how to tell his tribe that the woman they had searched for, for an entire month had just gone down to the Twin Feathers. A tribe that could easily has sent word to them.

Voices were echoing in his head; Wolf's, Nova's, his brother's, English's and many others. Each telling him that the relationship was nothing or even better that he was everything to her. His head had continued to pound with the headache that wouldn't seem to go away.

The one thing he had not stopped doing was eating, but to be honest although he would deny it Grey was an emotional eater. It was something passed down from his mother and although he controlled it well, he was not the type to just stop eating. So to avoid everyone and anyone he had been going down to the kitchen late at night when he heard no one and that morning was no different. He had lived in that house since he had been born (literally) so there was no need to turn on any light as she walked down the stairs and turned down the hall that lead to the kitchen. There was no touching of the walls to figure out where he was, he knew exactly where he was which is why that fact that there was a chair in the entry way to the kitchen caught him off guard. He jammed his toe into it and without even the groan of pain, he picked up the wooden chair and smashed it against the kitchen counter. A sigh left his lips then, knowing he;d eventually have to fix it or make a new one. Everything seemed to weigh on him so heavily. Walking over the the fridge he opened the door and started loading his shirt with food, not bothering to look around.

Who: Jed and Grey
When: Friday morning
Where: Wolves territory 
What: With the constant glares and bad mutters Jed tries to decrease the tension in the tribe towards him by swapping manual labour for food.

Being second in command sucked, by all definitions it blowed on several levels Jed wasn't even sure existed.  Jed didn't exist either, according to some people in the tribe, he would have even been surprised if Silver had decided to not talk to him either.  How many times could he tell her what he did was what he thought was in the best interests of the tribe?  Just because a guy tells you, you look nice while he steals from you doesnt mean he's not a thief, it just means he's a really flattering thief.  Jed was not going to keep a flattering thief in the tribe and just because Gypsy sometimes found him useful didn't mean that he wasn't allowed to feel what he felt.  Perhaps he was over reacting, perhaps fear was getting the best of him when he saw that bandana in Pan's hand, the one that belonged to Silver.  He didn't for a second think that if Pan found out what it really meant that it would just lie, there would be a whole explosion of bad things that would head Jed's way.  Short of being kicked out of the tribe he'd probably have to see Pan take up his spot while he waved goodbye to Sundance forever.

He quite liked being where he was.  And Pan hadn't even been kicked out yet, he was just not staying in their camp for the while.

Jed's frown seemed to be etched into his face and no matter how much he tried to tell himself that deep down everyone understood, he had never felt himself believe in a lie less than he did now.  It wasn't easy doing what he had done, he'd tried to take it back, he'd tried to give him a second shot but the idiot wouldn't take it, and now he was trekking all the way from the river to the Wolves camp to chop wood in exchange for food.  Turned out he didn't have anything for trade, he hadn't been burgled, he just didn't have anything.  Pan was the trader, he was the one who made things and Jed had gotten rid of him.  His own intelligence, or lack there of, never failed to surprise him.

As he arrived at the back gate he darted a look around, pulling his beaten leather jacket back on his shoulders kicked the gate with his foot.
"Grey!" he hollered across the field, gaining the attention of some startled but never interested animals, a few goats and some sheep...the goats looked away and continued to nuzzle the grass, the sheep made disgruntled noises and stared.  The staring was getting creepy and Jed kicked the gate again, "Grey, your sheep have murder in their eyes!"  When did sheep look homicidal?