You work your way through the smaller pipe.

Under City Hall

Water flows swiftly through a channel in the floor of this junction, leaving the rest of the area clean and dry. The concrete walls here are a clean, fresh white, and their waterproof coating leaves them smooth to the touch. A collection of small pipes and conduits run overhead, disappearing into the wall in either direction. A tag on each indicates the date of the last inspection - each date is less than two months past.

A pipe in one wall carries water away, while two dry overflow pipes head off in different directions. A ladder set in one wall leads up to a small hatch in the ceiling.

Contents:

Chrysti

Obvious exits:

Ladder Larger Dry Pipe Smaller Dry Pipe Down-Stream Pipe

Sepdet moves along like a shadow in the darkness. Spying a stranger, she freezes and presses against the pipe, ready to bolt. She looks like little more than a stray dog.

l me

Sepdet(#3589POce)

Little more than an oversized jackal, Sepdet moves quietly in the shadows on long slender legs. Her Egyptian ancestry is clearly visible in her sleek, dark fur, long narrow muzzle, and large, sensitive ears. Her ebony pelt is now sadly rather patchy, revealing skin brown instead of black. A lattice of old scars and newer is only visible in a few places where the original, darker skin is still visible. The underfur of her chest is scorched by an odd, perfectly circular brand. She seems to be missing a toe or three from her front paws.

There is still a trace of dry humor occasionally behind this terribly young one's eyes, but sadly this is mostly veiled by her somber manner which Striderness cannot entirely account for.

Her fur holds the sun-baked sage scent of old campfires, pine pitch, and assorted herbs.

l chry

Chrysti is small, almost slight in build, with long dark hair that falls all the way to her hips. She has large dark blue eyes set into a small, pointed face, with full lips and an straight, small nose. Although she is not pretty, her luminous eyes attract attention. They are expressive, and the lines about them speak of both humor and pain.

She is constantly watching her surroundings, usually quite calmly. Her hair often falls into her face, and she is constantly pulling it away. She seems to be in her early twenties. Today she is wearing a black sweater and black slacks. On her left middle finger she wears a golden ring set with a black stone.

At her left temple there are a few brilliantly white hairs that trail down to about where her ear is.

Sepdet sniffs, bracing against the stench.

You paged Chrysti with 'No Wyrm on you, I assume. :)'.

Chrysti looks curiously at Sepdet. "What are you doing down here, little one?"

Chrysti pages: Nope.

Sepdet stares at the woman with gleaming wide dark eyes that are strangely human in their steadiness. Her tail twitches, a lupine laugh, talking mostly to herself. One might ask the same of you. She stands her ground warily, looking fully prepared to bolt on those long slim legs, tiny and unafraid.

Chrysti blinks in surprise. "I dreamt of walking in the stench and the darkness, and I have little better to do right now than follow my dreams."

Sepdet's ears lift and turn forward. Are you walking in my dreams then? Do you see through other's eyes?

Sepdet backs up a step, pawing at slime and then shaking the foot fitfully.

Chrysti looks down at the ick, mumbles a little, and sighs. Her form blurs into darkness and then her bright blue eyes peer out of a more lupine form. Sometimes I do that. I'm not always sure from whence my dreams come. Do you walk down here often?

Chrysti contorts and blurs as she is transformed.

Chrysti slides into Lupus form.

Sepdet looks at you without anger or much fear, only a faint sadness. Hold still, where you are. Come no closer.

Shadow-Catcher wraps her tail around herself. I shall not. What is the matter?

Sepdet fixes her eyes into a challenging stare. Swear to me that you do not know who I am. Tell me who you are, and with truth. I must know.

Shadow-Catcher blinks in surprise. I have never seen you before in my life. I do not know your name, or anything of you, except that I dreamt of wandering in stench and darkness, and found you while doing so in real life. I am the Shadow-Catcher, and I was born under the crescent moon that shines now above us, to the tribe of the Fianna.

Sepdet's eyes seem to look into you, into your years, though it is clear she is little more than a child. She makes no move, not a sound, not a breath, for some moments. Then she relaxes. Come. You are not of wolf-born. I will show you truth, and speak freely.

+shift glabro

Sepdet contorts and blurs as she is transformed.

You shift into Glabro form.

Cleared.

Cleared.

Shadow-Catcher dips her dark muzzle respectfully at the other. Might I be graced by knowing your name? Or is there danger in such?

Sepdet wraps her thin arms against her chest, shivering though it is clammy and warm down here. Her eyes are tired and sad. ~I am danger, and death hunts me. So I could not hail you first as friend.~

Sepdet lifts her chin with faint pride. ~Sepdet. Strider Seer. Keeper of Land...~ she glances upwards, face terribly yearning. ~But no longer. I am a prisoner, for the sake of remaining free. I live down here, now.~

Shadow-Catcher closes her eyes, all but vanishing into the darkness as she does. When she opens them again, she says quietly, as if it relates, ~Some darknesses are terrible.~

Sepdet shakes her head fiercely. ~Darkness is a cloak to hide within. I will not be trapped here forever. My pack is on the tracks of those who would have me walk the Black Spiral--me and a friend whom I guard in this place. When we have turned from prey to hunters, then I will walk free and see the stars again. And I'll make them pay, for forcing me to run down here, for forcing a Strider to cage herself in a city's forgotten catecombs and tombs.~ Her eyes gleam.

Shadow-Catcher's eyes are reflective and quiet. ~Perhaps, then, it is of this I have been dreaming.~

Sepdet bites her lip. ~I'm sorry. You should not have to dream of Sepdet. She is nobody at all.~ Her lips twist with wry humor, the first glimpse of it the somber wisp of a girl has shown tonight. ~But tell me. Tell me of my caern. Is it well? Do the spirits dance there? I can smell my trees upon you.~

Shadow-Catcher looks down and paws at the muck. ~It is a cold and lonely place for me, although not yet as bad as walking alone. It is full of uncertainities and uneasiness and feuds I do not understand and wars among those who should be allies. There are spirits missing, and at night, I dream of a black darkness circling in the sky opposite the turning of the Wheel, threatening to devour the land.~ She shakes her head roughly. ~I am still new, and uneasy there. Perhaps I am not the best to ask for news. There is too much I do not understand.~

Shadow-Catcher senses "Sepdet bears herself with a certain self-deprecating assurance: as if embarrassed to be speaking so frankly, and with such an aura of authority. She does not give her rank. And she addresses you with the honesty of an equal, as if not expecting more than that. But there is definitely an adult, nearly elder-like air about this girl, for all she looks to be barely at puberty."

Shadow-Catcher adds softly, ~I feel like a confused cub again.~

Sepdet growls softly. ~No, you are not confused. The storm is coming, and you are a good seer if you can smell it already. I must trust this time in the rest of you caring for it for me. I ache to be there. One of our totems, Magpie, has been missing a full season now. But I cannot bring you aid, I cannot bring you hope's fire, in this battle. The Dancers mark my steps. They would follow me to the Wheel.~

Sepdet flinches, a second before a spark of blue fire laces down her hip, into the muck, and splits out into a thousand feelers moving like tiny threads of lightning across the surface of the water and steel pipe before dissipating.

Shadow-Catcher swishes her tail thoughtfully, staring up at the roof of the tunnel, seeming to look beyond it to where her moon shines. ~They speak of the Federal agent who stalks the Caern, but they know nothing for certain.~ She stops. ~What was that?~

Sepdet shrugs. ~A friend.~

Shadow-Catcher pages: How dark is it, down here?

You paged Shadow-Catcher with 'Pretty damn dark.'.

Shadow-Catcher contorts and blurs as she is transformed.

Shadow-Catcher slides into Glabro form.

Sepdet seems unperturbed, except by the fianna's words. ~The human near the caern is causing trouble? Aiya. I'd hoped my Dylan Burns-bright had lured him away.~

Chrysti smiles a little. ~Friends are nice.~ The ring on her finger begins to emit a dim glow reminicent of starlight. It is cool, comforting, almost unnoticeable. ~Dylan... Dylan knows him. Dylan spoke with him. He, perhaps, is not what everybody is so worried about.~ She pauses. ~In any case, that is the only worry anybody will speak to me about. I have my dreams and I wish to help, but... I am not sure how. So I walk at night, sometimes with my friend, and follow my dreams.~

Sepdet smiles faintly, glancing at the ring. ~That is a good way, though...be careful. The spirit world here is no place even for a footsure Strider these days. Tell me. Have people forgotten Magpie? Are they so worried about human things, they have forgotten Cougar's warning? The caern will be under siege soon. The storm is coming, and if people are not watchful, they may not see when Gaia gives us a sign to tell us what is coming.~

Chrysti brings her ringfinger up to her face, passing the stone against her cheek. As she does so, the light seems to leap from to ring to her skin, and for an instant, light radiates from her skin. Then there is darkness again. ~I think that many people have forgotten Magpie. They did not know what I spoke of when I sensed the loss. The only one who could name the loss for me was one called Moon Otter.~

Sepdet lifts her head fiercely, eyes showing a glint of anger. ~Tell them that Hope begs them to remember. Tell them that if they forget Magpie just because she is not able to come, the storm will go worse for them. They do not forget me, and I am only a mule. Tell them to leave her offerings, and prayers, and lend their strength to her, bend their hearts towards her. She is in a place like me, hidden...in danger. She dares not show her face. But she needs our love now more than ever! I know it, if there is an atom of the Strider prophets in me.~

Chrysti lowers her head a little, crossing her arms. ~Do you know where she is? The one called Moon Otter said she did want Garou help.~ She pauses, hold herself tighter, looks away. ~I do not forget her, and her secrets.~

Sepdet sighs wistfully. ~She's in trouble. She won't even tell Cougar or buffalo what's happening...I think she can't. I tried calling one of her messengers to ask what we should do, and was nearly killed, I and Joseph, for my trouble. Well. You look to her. Otter does; I do not doubt him. Joseph, my spirit-brother. Eligio and Thorn. Perhaps we will be enough, so that we are on hand, when she finally makes her face known again.~

Chrysti nods, once. ~I shall.~ She hesitates, uncrosses her arms and looks at her hands thoughtfully. After a moment, she drops her hands, bowing her head a little. ~What of you, and my dreams that sent me here? Is there anything I can do for you, or any wisdom you can teach me?~

Sepdet bites her lip. ~You stood on the edge of a cliff in your mind and looked off. I've been beyond, on the paths of the dead. Perhaps I should teach you something, before I go back into my exile.~

Chrysti opens her blue eyes wide. ~I have, a few times. Recently, it was... worse.~ Her hand goes to the thin white streak at her temple, almost unconsciously.

Sepdet slips her hands in her pockets and scuffs the ground with a toe--bare feet, in this mess. It looks unpleasant. ~Yeah. I know. Don't do it. The Wyrm will smile. Let me teach you something about despair, and hope.~

Sepdet asks lightly, as if inquiring about a book once read, ~Do you know the Prophecy of the Phoenix?~

Bianca finds her way out of the pipe which leads downstream.

Bianca has arrived.

Bianca scitters along a pipe and stops. Whiskery nose lifting, the rat peers at the two intruders, eyes glittering.

Sepdet fixes the small scurrying shadow with her gaze without a word, no more than mild questioning behind it. She nods slightly, and looks back at Chrysti.

l bianca

A she-rat looks back at you and twitches her whiskers. Her body is about six inches in length, and with her tail, she is a full thirteen inches long. Her sleek, wiry body is covered in brown fur that looks dirty and somewhat matted, and her long tail is a scaly pinkish yellow. Her black eyes are alive with cunning as she looks at you, and there is something sly in her rodent face as she sniffs the air in your direction.

You paged Chrysti with 'It's just a small rat, Chrysti. Ignore it. :)'.

Bianca twitches her whiskers and chitters softly. She's within easy scurry of shelter. This is her place, her home. She is not afraid. She watches.

Bianca has connected.

Chrysti is still, very still. ~Yes.~

Bianca twitches again and runs a paw over her nose.

Sepdet's hands dig in her pockets, pushing the dirty tails of her vest away from her body and revealing the slim cold grey line of her klaive against her upper thigh. She slouches, looking up at the woman with thoughtful, patient eyes. ~My people make it their business to watch signs for the last battle, since our own battle was lost long ago. And we have reached the fourth sign. Phoenix warns of a doom which shall be. Why? Why does She do this, when it is a proof that all our struggles are for naught, and we should give into despair as the enemy wishes?~

Chrysti shakes her head. ~Emptiness, and despair...~ she murmurs, her face dark.

Sepdet shakes her head. ~No. No. Listen to me. You are looking ahead. We all do. We look at the signs and despair. But there is something you are not looking at.~

Sepdet says, ~Look over your shoulder.~

Chrysti complies, eyes still very wide.

From afar, Bianca is over her shoulder?

Sepdet's soft dry laughter echoes oddly in the dripping reek. ~No, that's just a rat. But I mean in the prophecy. In the prophecy, as it is told to us, what is behind the speaker's shoulder?~

Bianca's whiskers twitch again, eyes beady and bright.

Chrysti considers, and then smiles softly. ~Phoenix.~

Sepdet says, ~Phoenix. Phoenix is the prophecy's meaning. She has been with us all along, if we only dared look at her truth. The last days. Gaia burns in a fire, and we shall fight and die there in Her cauldron of death, fighting to preserve and protect one last ember from corruption. One last ember.~ Her eyes glitter. ~The egg.~

Chrysti smiles and snaps her teeth at nothing in particular. ~Is that what I must do? Protect the future? The flames?~

Sepdet says calmly, ~Phoenix is Gaia. Phoenix dies in ashes. Gaia falls in flames. If we can somehow keep some part of her away from the corruption though, that one bit will survive the fires, which will destroy everything. Everything else. And from that ember, from that egg, the new Phoenix will rise.~

Sepdet says, ~This is our hope. The Wyrm is pure destruction, and eventually, it will destroy even itself. We must safeguard an egg with so much of our spirit and will that it survives the flames. Find something worth saving, Seer. I have found mine: the Wheel Renewed. Who knows what your egg will be. But when you find it, guard it with your life. It may be the one that survives.~

Chrysti closes her eyes. ~And stepping off the cliff... would be a loss...~ She grins, caught up in the phoenix-fire of Sepdet. ~But I am, after all, a shadow-catcher. And I was born when the moon was almost swallowed by darkness, with that slim light shining brightest.~

Sepdet's eyes glitter, another spark dancing off her fingers. ~You see. Remember, when the flames rise up and all seems hopeless and smoke before your eyes. Remember.~

Chrysti hugs herself. ~It is hard sometimes, the forms the fires and the darknesses take. It makes oblivion seem better than such damnation.~

Sepdet touches a small lock of dark hair curling behind one ear in a formal salute. ~Well. I must go back to hiding now. Tell Burns-bright and Joseph that Hope is thinking of them. I will see you again before we have to face the fires.~ She half turns. ~Walk well.~

Chrysti bows after Sepdet. ~ I shall carry your words to the Wheel. Dream well.~

Sepdet throws herself forward, dropping back into jackal's guise, and flees in silence.