Third Howl [Private Messages, late Friday night]

[professorwolf]

A series of private audio messages:


[To Eliot, left on his phone:]

Eliot, this is-- Professor Lyall.

[Yes, there's a brief hesitation there. He's still not entirely sure he oughtn't go with his first name, since Eliot insisted he use his.]

I have found a scent trail for the Oracle. If you would like to help me investigate, I would be glad of your company.

---

[To Kaidan, who has now graduated from title status into last name status:]

Alenko, this is Lyall. I seem to have found the Oracle, or at least some sign of her. I would like to speak with you in person about it, if possible.

---

[To Tony, since he was so... helpful last time, and proving he did indeed learn how to make a private call:]

Mister Stark. I thought you might like to know I have found some sign of the Oracle, though not her, herself. I will keep you updated, if you like.

Comments

Perma Audio || Private

[golden_retriever]

Tell me when and where. I'll be on my way.

[Replied in kind]

[professorwolf]

Meet me at the ship, in perhaps an hour and a half's time. I have to speak with a couple people first, but then I will be ready.

[And traveling as a wolf would at least get them there quicker. Though then he might be stuck walking back in human form, this late in the evening... oh, well.]

[golden_retriever]

I'll be there. Headin' out now. [ He'll get there early, but Eliot could do other things in the area. ]

[professorwolf]

[Lyall isn't late, but he's not early, either. He had to have a chat with Kaidan, first. He arrives, though, in full wolf form, with his specially made pack slung between his shoulders, straps tugged tight with his teeth. It has clothes and a torch inside, plus one of his surviving maps of the mountains, not that he thinks they'll need it.

He bounds up and greets Eliot with a bark, a lolled tongue, and a tail-wag of welcome.]

[golden_retriever]

[ Eliot turned at the bark, and brow arched when he found himself facing a wolf. The scent was familiar, so was the appearance, somewhat. The last time he had seen Lyall like this, he had also been a wolf himself.

But most curious was that Lyall, as a wolf, was wearing a bag.

Eliot's expression turned amused in greeting. ]

Huh. Alright, but I hope you're plannin' on keepin' pace with me cause I ain't comin' with you lookin' like that.

[professorwolf]

[Though Lyall gave a little derisive snort, and shot Eliot a somewhat disapproving (and yet somehow amused) look, he flipped his tail as if to say, "suit yourself". Then he set off, not at a lope, but at a trot. Eliot could surely keep up with that. Even werewolves in human form, in his own London, could keep up with that.

Maybe the man ought to have brought a horse. Ah, well.]

[golden_retriever]

[ He would've brought a horse, assuming he could get one and tame one in time to bear him, not to mention bear him andtravel alongside a wolf, if he had known he needed one. Lyall's message had not specified and Eliot had never thought he would be traveling with a wolf.

He kept pace though. Being in excellent health and one who worked out, he actually kept up very well. Except he had no idea ]

Where are we goin'?

[professorwolf]

[Oh, did he forget to mention that? Lyall pauses and lifts a forepaw to point in the direction of the cave tunnel and its hidden door, his ears perked and tail high. He's most definitely pointing deeper into the mountains. Did Eliot think that the good lady would be held somewhere easy to find? Especially when it has taken Lyall this long to catch a scent?]

[golden_retriever]

[ The werewolf might have neglected that tidbit, yes. Not that his answer now was easy to decipher. As far as Eliot was concerned, a wolf paw pointing into the forest only gave him a direction, not a location. Sighing, Eliot tied his hair tighter and continued keeping pace. ]

Guess we head further out of town then. Got it.

Perma Audio || Encypted

[standsentinel]

Lyall. That's some da-- rn good news.

[There might've been the choked off start of a 'Professor' in front of that, but Kaidan's quick to adjust when he needs to be. Mostly.]

I'm down in the tunnels right now -- checking over how my garden grows. Should be a good spot for a talk, unless you want me to meet you somewhere?

[Replied in kind => Action?]

[professorwolf]

[That stumble is enough to warn Lyall he's slipped. Whoops. Oh, well, it isn't as if the fellow isn't a friend. And he actually chuckles a little at the use of a nursery rhyme. One he even knows!]

You are up late, Alenko. But no, that is just fine. I will be there shortly.

Yesss.

[standsentinel]

I guess I am. Funny, it's been a couple months now, and I'm still not quite weaned off ship's time -- day and night get a little weird when you're in interstellar space.

[Of course, once Lyall arrives at the underground greenhouse, he can probably smell and see that this isn't the whole truth -- Kaidan's on the tail end of yet another of his migraines, and has decided that if sleep isn't coming, he may as well be useful.

'Useful', in this case, means checking over temperature and light levels to make sure that the little green sprouts popping up along the raised soil boxes continue to thrive.]

[professorwolf]

[Though he might be used to Kaidan and his headaches, that doesn't mean Lyall doesn't still worry about them. Emerging into the artificial sunlight-- apparently artificial sunlight doesn't bother him the way real sunlight does, he's found-- to the scent of pain among the growing things makes him wince.

Might as well go with the change of title. He rather likes it, to be honest.]

Alenko. Good evening. Feeling all right?

[standsentinel]

Evening, Lyall.

[The gradations of Victorian formality and informality are fuzzy to Kaidan, and when your normal social context can involve calling your beloved by her last name... well, it helps to just meet people halfway. He lifts a hand letting the omni-tool display hovering above it blink back out with the gesture.]

Manageable, you might say. But what's the news on the Oracle?

[professorwolf]

[With only a brief pause and look of mild concern for the fellow, Lyall is quick to get to the point.]

I found her scent out in the mountains, along with Nem's. Hers, however, is behind a locked door inside a tunnel. Nem's leads to it, and then away again.

[standsentinel]

Interesting. Think he was bringing her supplies?

[One hand lifts, rubbing thoughtful fingers along the stubble-shadowed line of his jaw as Kaidan looks out across the rows of planters, and considers things entirely unrelated to them. He seems to lag a little more than usual -- residual effects of the headache, likely.]

Was there anything off about her scent? Signs of injury, anything like that?

[professorwolf]

Or else he's holding her there, and keeping a close watch.

[Lyall isn't sure which line of thought to settle on: that Nem is being helpful, or harmful. Why bring the Oracle out to the middle of nowhere? And was it on her request, or by force? He looks about as torn as he feels, for once, since he doesn't guard himself nearly as well as he used to around Kaidan these days.]

I couldn't tell. The scent is too old, and too faint. I feel myself lucky to have picked it up, at all. I'm taking a friend out with me for a second opinion tonight, to see if we can get her out, or at least make more sense of the situation.

[Private Text; Encrypted]

[nodavinci]

Recent?

[Replied in kind, though rather slowly]

[professorwolf]

Relatively recent, yes. It is a bit complicated to explain the particulars. I believe she may be being held somewhere outside the city.

[nodavinci]

By?

[A moment later, he replies again on an audio channel. The dull, high-pitched whine in the background doesn't quite bury his words, but it's hardly pleasant.]

Yeah, this is easier. Do you have a location and numbers?

[Audio back again!]

[professorwolf]

The location is well in the mountains, and I will be on my way back to investigate it shortly with a companion.

[Who is not you, sorry Tony. He doesn't see you as very useful when it comes to tracking and opening doors. Not to mention he doesn't like that noise you're making one little bit. His own voice is actually pained, but he soldiers on anyway.]

I'm not entirely certain what you mean by numbers, however.

[nodavinci]

The number of people holding her. Assuming you can tell in the mountains.

[The reply's absent, suggesting he's left the channel open while he works on something else.

Which, really, one might hope he has, because otherwise, someone must be torturing a giant metal mosquito perilously near to the microphone.]

[professorwolf]

Ah. As far as I can tell-- only one.

[How can Tony even hear anything around that racket? How is the man not deaf yet? He hates to give in to the inevitable, but it is quite painful for him, so he breaks down actually almost immediately.]

Please, Mister Stark, if there is anyway you could desist that abominable noise....

[nodavinci]

Sounds easy. What's the catch?

[Earpiece, practice, and sheer bloody-mindedness, almost certainly.]

Actually, no - I'd have to start all over again. Assuming it would take a second time.

[This may or may not be actually true - without any video, it's impossible to tell what he's doing.]

[professorwolf]

Then perhaps we should leave this conversation for another time, Mister Stark. Or in person.

[He doesn't really want to get into details over this network, anyway. And ow, his ears....]