Bawn: Northern Forest
Dark and foreboding woods stretch in all directions but the north, the trees close together as if they were soldiers closing ranks against the enemy of Man. The trees here are tall, and close off all light from above, like they were pillars in some vast cathedral to Nature. Songbirds flit between the branches and the snuffling of small animals comes from the brush if one listens close enough. The busy interstate highway to the north, though, drowns out most of the subtler sounds in that direction.
The northern edge of the bawn is marked here by the unavoidable length of Interstate 90. Near it, the sounds of traffic drown out the more natural sounds of water and wildlife. In all other directions, the traffic noise recedes into the background.

The sound of a wolf running the old game trails can be heard by any who aren't trying to ignore the sound. The panting, the crunching of debris and the snap of low ground cover all combines to paint the picture of a lupine running hard. That wolf tonight is Strong-Heart.

Along his path, Coriander sits with a sketchbook and pencils, sketching away. She does pause lightly when she hears the approaching wolf. Tilting her head, she listens for a moment before she scoots away from the path itself, no desire to be trampled, it would seem. However, when Strong-Heart appears, she drops the pencil and the book and hops up to her feet.

The Galliard knew she was hear; hiding a distinct scent trail from an experienced wolf isn't the easiest thing to do. He slows as he nears her, head butting up against her knees and body shuffling against her. His nose pokes behind her knees and his tail wags, Hello Curiosity!

Coriander leans over to give the wolf a hug, as well as ruffling his fur affectionately. "Hey you," she says with a light smile, "What're you up to out here?" She kneels down, to lay her head against his back for a moment.

Strong-Heart leans in to that gently shown affection. Running, he answers with the loll of his tongue and his still present panting. He sniffs at her side as she hugs him, What do you do?

"I was drawing some." Cori sits back some, although her hands stay in his fur. "Just trying to relax some with the moon and all. But I always feel better when you come by," she adds with a brighter smile.

Strong-Heart turns a nuzzle-lick to her cheek as she slips back. A moment later and the wolf is in the process of turning to man. He smiles at her and shakes his head, "You make me blush Cori. So, can I see what you're drawing?"

"Nice of you to shift to a form I can see the blush in," Cori says, teasingly. She looks back at the sketchbook, nodding as she reaches to pick it up, "If you really want to. Just some drawings of the woods and such. Right now, I'm working on a little sketch of the pack. Might paint it later, if I get more supplies." She passes it over, where the open page shows four incomplete wolves, three of them seeming to be in play, the fourth sitting off to the side.

The Galliard laughs, pointing to the one off to the side. "That one's you right? The sour puss?" He's joking obviously, and after a moment of studying it he hands it back, "That's really good Cori. You've got a lot of talent for that. So, where's the pictures of me?"

Coriander gives him a little shove at the joke, but there is still a smile on her face. "Only on certain occasions," she replies. But, her smile grows a little at the compliment, "Thanks. Pictures of you, huh?" Cori reaches for the book, flipping back a few pages before she taps of one, finished, of the Galliard himself. Laughing, it looks like. "The next one is you and Jesse, too. And there's a few more, but that's the good one."

Jacob goes quiet at this, eyes wide and mouth dropping slightly open. "Oh wow Cori. This is amazing." He just spends some time studying it and then turns the next page and looks at that one as well. "Wow." He hands it back and then runs his fingers through his hair. " - You - are amazing."

There's a light chuckle as Cori waves her hand dismissively. "Nah, you just think your girl's pretty," she says lightly, tossing off the compliments. "Which she is. Good subject matter helps a lot." Her expression, on the other hand, beams a bit brighter at the praise.

Jacob laughs, "That how I turned out so well?" he asks with a soft nudge. "Can I watch you for a while? I wanna see how you do it."

"Well, /that/ may be more because of me," she says, the tease accompanied by a playful poke at his side. "You want to watch? Well, that's okay. But it'll be boring for you," she reaches to take back the book, resettling in her place to grab the pencils again. "What was entertaining what when we would all get high and paint together. At the commune. That was always a good time."

"What did you end up painting? Like what kind of pictures?" Jacob settles in beside her and watches the stroke of pencil against pad. "I never could draw. Not even stick figures."

"Well. Sometimes it would be just swirls and such. Sometimes, it would be more... cartoony funny stuff. Nothing really well defined or even a representation of anything real, just imagination. But sometimes... sometimes we'd get something really spectacular." Cori's attention does fall to the paper, the girl working on deepening the shadows in the picture, to start bringing out some depth. "You know, everyone has an artist in them, you just have to figure out how to bring it out."

Jacob hmms, "Well. I, I dunno. I'm good at being growly. Is that an art form?"

"I suppose it is, for Garou," Cori says with a light chuckle. But, she continues more seriously, "Fighting style can be an art. Singing, storytelling, dancing... heck, just talking can be an art. The way a person walks, the way they look. You look for the little ways you're artistic, then the more obvious ways will come easier, because you know you have it in you."

Jacob smiles at her a little, "I like music." He leaves it at that though and as she promised, the watching of her sketch in progress either bores him or relaxes him until he's slouched down and using her legs as a pillow. "Mind if I lounge?"

"Of course I don't mind. Make yourself comfy." Cori looks up from the paper briefly, to smirk at him, "Told you it would be boring." But she looks right back down, to focus on her drawing once again.

"Not boring, just really relaxing. You can draw me while I sleep." He smiles at her and then his eyes close and his hands fold lightly over his chest. "Just, don't sketch me in a pose where I'm drooling or anything." One eye winks open as he grins at her, then it's lights out.