The forest opened to a clearing with a vertical rock face of possibly 20 feet in height. Neither was it shear nor was it craggy having been weathered by the ages. The wall had one small aperture big enough for a wolf or man. Out of it came across sulfurous fumes that bit at the nose.

The ground itself became stone. It was cracked by tenacious grasses and ferns. Holes filled with questionable water were riven into its surface like so many toe prints of a giant. The landscape of granite was strewn with half decayed pine needles.

The air was replete with aromas. The cycle of decay and growth was laced with sulfur. Scents  of herbs and tobacco wafted on top of the background smells. Heightened senses picked up hints of the motley arrivals. Rare herbs and spices played in the air with leather and motor oil.

Atop the formation stood a pack of extras from Sam Peckenpaugh motorcycle movie. With them were two humans that stood out and two disparate wolves. The group descended to the gathering place, a large bonfire that sent a flames up into the deepening grey of the approaching night. The wood snapped and cracked adding to the sounds of drums and the  awakening life of the forest.

The soft splashing of padding through the water gave way to the babbling of the river as a group of wolves emerged and ascended the bank to the fire. They stayed in file, each their own color pelt, except for one that was completely hairless. There were two with silver but even among them there was a different tint and underpelt.

By the aperture in the stone wall were what appeared to be the local pack. A middle aged man at the back stood out the most. He was not tall, nor did he look especially imposing, and yet eyes were drawn to him. His braided hair was accented with a large turkey feather. His sienna skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, his eyes large and unfocused. He wore only a breastplate of laced bones that came down to his navel. To his side stood a grey wolf with ochre markings that seemed to match those on the breastplate. In front of them were two remaining members of their pack. A young man scratching his head with a set of car keys and a dishelved timber wolf almost five feet in height.

The member of the various packs started to mix and greet each other. Some obviously avoided others. The man in the breast plate kept away from the others as they socialized, his eyes cast towards the sky. He rocked back and forth as he sang and struck the drums before him.

The lead of the bikers greeted the man scratching his head with a complicated handshake and started talking. The powerful blonde that came with them took off a keg from her back and sat in front of the fire basking in its warmth. From the river bank the lead wolf trotted over to hole in the rock face and curled up beside the singing man. He rested his head on the lap, eyes darting back and forth carefully watching the events.

The middle-aged man in the bone breastplate stood and everyone went quiet. As the others repositioned themselves into a circle he welcomed everyone. ”Welcome to Moshup’s Footprint Caern. My people say a giant dig his toes into the stone and that is why this place looks like it does. We know it as a place of great spirituality and connection to the Umbra. This may just be a monthly sept moot, but there is something special this time. We are welcoming not one but five new cubs to the sept. We are still looking at oracles to see if this is good or bad. They undergo their trial tonight.” With that comment he looked at the cubs grimly, his eyes watering. ”If they survive we may have a new pack, that would be a great boon for the sept. Next moon we may even open this caern even further.” He turned to address the cubs. ”I wouldn’t normally explain this but you need to know. The Theurges will draw in the winds and the caern will be opened. Then you shall be given a task, that will be your trial. Then the Galliards will tell their stories. Disputes will be settled. Finally the revel. Know that once the trial is over you are Cliath. Your future depends on your actions.”

Touches-the-Stars went silent and all that could be heard was the roar of the fire and the crackling of wood being consumed. Sights-with-Lightning and Eats-the-Paste stood and joined him. He started a native inspired dance around the fire. There felt to be a silent song filling the air, as I’d one could hear it if they listened closer. As he danced his body transformed. His feet grew longer as his thighs shortened and thickened. His face contorted as he grew a muzzle and his body covered in hair. At the end of his dance he was in full imposing Crinos form facing away from the rock face. Sights-with-Lightning started an ecstatic dance, flailing and tracing forms in the air as he spun and howled at the moon. He lurched and danced in front of the fire to another silent song, a more somber but all together for frenetic song. As he finish, he too had finished transforming into her black pelted Crinos form that had a very strong air of aggression. He was facing back towards the direction of the parking lot. Everything fell into a hush again, with just the sounds of the fire and the night, as Eats-the-Paste took up position facing away from Lightning. The wolf started kicked and bouncing its head as it started “dancing” around the fire. Again the feeling of music was in the air but one much happier, just as energetic but not as chaotic. The hairless wolf started to change forms. The transformation was different from this direction. His muzzle shortened but got wider. His limbs stretched at his legs differentiated into arms and legs with the claws becoming long and deadly. As his transformation ended the hairless Crinos was skanking along to inaudible ska around the fire, ending in the position he started. The three joined together in a dance that seemed to meld their style but draw on something deeper, timeless, a calling from Luna herself, full and bright above. The dance ended facing the opening in the wall and they threw their heads back looking to the sky. In unison they howled an invitation to the moon, to the winds, and to the spirits.

The turned and looked to the rest of the circle. Everyone else started joining the call with yips and howls. They too changed their forms to the hulking true form. The three Theurges entered the opening in the rock. Brilliant starlight shown from within and an audible chant started.