Dying for Luna's Tears

It was a beautiful and wyld forest - thick with trees. Father Sky was bright and blue above us - though I think that Kokopelli must have had something to do with the creation of the place as well.

I mention the influence of Kokopelli, because when we arrived those of us born on two legs were forced to our breed form and were unable to shift. After walking a short time, those born of war also lost the ability to shift. But this was not the only evidence of the trickster's hand in things.

As we walked, we aged. And so we ran... but still we aged. It was not long until the oldest of us - died.

Death by old age - a rare way for a Garou to die.
Yet - one by one, it was the death that visited those born on two legs, and then of war, and then of the wolf.

Yes, we all died.
Several times.

It was as though Kokopelli had placed us all into an old time lapse nature film from an episode of Wonderful world of Disney.

We awakened at our current age, grew old with rapidity, died - and then started the cycle all over again.

It was a place where the lupus born had the clear advantage.

So, while the rest of us did not have the hope to be able to reach deep enough into that place before dying again and again, it was the lupus who were left to solve the puzzle.

Junkyard Dog, Trash Collector and Gaia's Reckoning.

The three ran with the speed of the roadrunner and came upon a tree with a heart carved into it, the skeleton of a wolf at the bottom of the tree.
Junkyard Dog was the youngest, and thus lasted longest. In frustration, he clawed the tree.... and it bled.
When he came back to life, Trash Collector ran back and used his healing gift upon the bleeding tree and when he did, it put flesh upon the bones.

Seeing that healing was the key, the lupus ran with Junkyard Dog's pack totem. In her child form, she showed an immunity to the aging effect - yet when she reached the tree, it was with the soul of Unicorn that she hugged the tree and the fleshy bones beneath the tree became the body of Luna's Tears.
The three lupus brought back to the group the body of Luna's Tears, but even with the body, there was no path out of the forest.

We born of man and war watched over the body while the lupus returned to the tree and with their claws - destroyed it.

Still - no path.
Still stuck.
Still dying again and again.

I listened to the tale our lupus were telling us of healing being the key - and so I used unicorn's gift directly on the body of Luna's Tears and a path appeared to lead us out of that place.