[Gwen Sullivan] Friday nights were the best nights for Werewolf Stuff, Gwen had figured out. She was still in high school, still keeping her grades up, still maintaining the human facade of her life to make things less complicated (or far, far more, depending on who you asked). Her First Change had occurred just less than two months ago, and she found herself in a position where she could act as though it never happened and return home to her family with them being none the wiser. She needed the home, the food, the shelter, but more importantly the normalcy and the love of a family.
Adamidas was out of town, and she was her only link to this world. She didn't have 'family' here, like most cubs did. She had no tribe to be shuffled into automatically, no family members that had been watching her, aware of what was happening. She was told that being what she was meant there was a genetic thread to take into consideration, but either her parents had no damn clue what they were or her mom had diddled around some eighteen years ago and never told anyone.
Regardless, irrelevant.
She still had a whole lot of work to do, she'd learned. Her shifting was sluggish compared to what she'd seen, she had no real idea how to fight with the natural weaponry all of them had, and the Spirit World was something she'd only visited once and been just as much nerve wracked by as intrigued. So, tonight, when she had no school in the morning and was able to fool her parents into believing she was spending the night at some friend's house or another, she'd come here. Here, past the guardian with the eyes that could cut through granite, where the old ships creaked at their docks and she felt a chill of spirituality and resting power in her spine and shoulders.
She sat at one of many docks, legs dangling off the edge, dressed in a simple black T-shirt with some band logo on it that meant nothing to no one, a pair of faded and worn through jeans that were tattered at the cuffs, and a set of (you guessed it) black sneakers. Her palms were flat on the wooden boards behind her to support her weight as she leaned back, and she had her face turned up to the full face of the moon. The light glinted off the multiple piercings in her face, made even brassier the obviously fake fire engine red of her hair, and (as it did for any Garou) threw into sharp relief the Beast laying in wait under inexperienced, unscarred skin.
[Fire Claws] Fire Claws did not get his hutn like he wanted the other night. He got something else, something even better. He heard of the RIte of the Winter Wolf, he had been told stories of those that fought well into their old age and did not wish to strain the alpha to hunt for them any more. Stories long ago when prey was scarse and kills few and far between.
He has not seen any true born live to see that fate before last night. It was a great deed to watch, a good death to learn from. An honorable garou who earned his name, his place worthy of tales. And Fire Claws almost reflected on it, the day was already over gone. A story to be told, a warrior gone, but there was more. He licked at the air as he tasted the metallic taint the city offered among the graves. The smell of death and dried blood and dust... and... a new predator.
He could smell it, padding through the graves. Another creature he has yet to meet, to learn of and about. Claws and teeth ready to hunt. His curiousity drove him to hunt down this new wolf, move through the graves and towards the dock and water. Brown eyes taking in the night under the glow of the city. His motley fur of grey, black and red coming along well with the winter coat, healthy and rugged. A strong wolf in the middle of the big bad city. (Or was that a big bad wolf in the middle of the strong city).
When he finally tracked the scent down, he paused. Watching the little girl with ears pinned down, brow furrowed in wonder at the monkey sitting alone on the dock.
[Gwen Sullivan] It was a curious sensation, the effect of the full moon. She hadn't looked too deeply into it, hadn't accounted for the tension and irritability and absolute <i>need</i> for action before. Today, though, it had struck her when she was sitting in the principal's office at school, grinding her teeth and scrubbing her knuckles against the denim of her thighs while listening to the principal explain what had happened to her mother on the phone.
It didn't matter what had started the fight, not to Gwen. It didn't matter what Brianna Wainswright had said to her, all that mattered was the tone, the down-then-up flick of judgmental eyes, the sneer written across her face and the crinkle in her nose. Gwen had launched at the girl before realizing what she was doing, without tempering herself as she had always done before. She had the poor girl by her throat, blonde hair twisted up in fingers that dug firmly into the soft tissue under her jaw and about her trachea. She brought her face close enough that the smell of the petrified girl's spearmint bubblegum was still a strong memory of the incident and snarled for her to keep her distance and mind her place.
Thank you, Full Moon, for getting me suspended.
Thank you, Fate, for parents too laid back to care about a school fight that would let her 'spend the night' somewhere anyways.
Now, despite this being strong on her mind, despite the moon having captivated her gaze and kept it there for some time now, long enough for the sweat of effort to dry and evaporate off her face and neck, she was still an intensely attentive girl, constantly aware of her surroundings, with eyes that could not only pick out a beauty mark on a stranger's face at a distance, but a also a mind that would remember it forever, logged away just in case it may come up again. So when a large, healthy wolf appears in the corner of her line of vision, she notices. In the Caern she'd seen lumbering beasts once or twice, but typically people looked like people, spoke like people. She hadn't seen a wolf just yet.
Her gaze broke from the moon and directed itself onto the one that stood just a short ways away, watching her as intently as she was now watching him.
...How exactly do you shake that guy's hand without using a dog's command, anyway?
[Fire Claws] His head can\ted to the side just a bit, little askewed from staring right back at her. He could feel it about her, weak, soft. But still there, just within control and yet never controlled to begin with. He can smell the city still on her, the sweat of a possible hunt or just the day's exercise still lingering on her skin.
He moved slowly, intently. He could not pace around her out on the dock, move to flank her. He could not test her out here. But in the same vein she was going no where. There was no place to run to, no land to get to. She was trapped out on the dock between him and the possibliity of escape.
But he was still curious of her. Her smell did not give off her tribe, did not give off why she was here. Her body language did not tell him anything else. She was just a monkey, sitting by the great pond, thinking. And he starts to whuff at her, howl.
{ws}
"Are you new here?"
Like he was one to know who was new and who wasn't.
[Gwen Sullivan] Escape wasn't the first thought that occurred to her. Not tonight, not here. If she felt threatened by him (and she didn't, something about his stance suggested dominance but not aggression, and she understood the difference between the two) she would not seek a route of escape, but by the pull of Rage that was still so fresh and raw in her blood and muscles both she would sooner collide with him in the bodily equivalent of 'button mashing' in hopes of getting one or two good strikes in before she was taken down.
This didn't have to happen, though. Instead she sat, legs still hanging over the edge of the dock, with her body turned at the waist to better face him. She still didn't say anything, unsure if he would understand, if anything needed to be said.
Then he made sounds, shifted his posture, raise his voice into the night.
'Are you new here?,' he asked.
Holy shit, I understood that!, she thought.
Rather than exclaim that aloud, though, her eyebrows shot up to show the surprise, hovered there to draw attention to the bright splash of pink make-up about her eyelids, but lowered when she relaxed a little more, when the surprise had faded a touch and she was left answering.
"Newer than you probably think." Her voice had a faint rasp to it, something that was sought out in the 1920's but was nowadays associated with heavy smoking (though that wasn't the case). One day she'd grow into it, and it would sound smoky and sultry and be a true asset. For now, though, with her voice not quite fully matured yet, she just sounded like she needed a cough drop. "I'm Gwen."
[Fire Claws] He pads slowly down the dock, claws picking at rotting, old wood long since tended to for the original reasons they were created. Maybe the Guardians had taken care fo the worst of it, but they were not held together all that well anymore.
When her eyebrows shot up in surprise, he jumped back a little bit. Readying himself should she become agressive. It was the sudden, unexplained movements that kept him on edge. Sudden movements made a predator wary. But when no further aggression that could be seen, he started to move again towards her. Taking in the smell of the young girl. He wasn't much for an eye on with monkey's and their age. She was old enough to be in heat, she was no puppy. And he returned a cuff and yip in return, a howl of introduction to follow.
{ws}
"Gwen? I am Fire Claws, Forseti, Cliath. Born of Stone SKin, Adren Modi, raised in the Sept of Hidden Smoke."
[Gwen Sullivan] Etiquette was probably something she would need to receive a lesson on, because it wasn't really covered in full extent when Adamidas was explaining the basics to her. Sure, she understood deferment when it came to rank, but she had no idea how to behave with someone when they were a wolf. He was intelligent as any person was, he wasn't just 'some dumb animal' as most humans would like to think.
..But still, when he came near with his nostrils flaring to hunt for a scent, it was reflexive for her to put her hand out for him, fingers curled only slightly to make gentle the gesture, offering him a good closer sniff at her hand and wrist like you would a dog that was getting closer, so you could let them get to know you. If that was offensive, she had no idea of it.
When he goes on to introduce himself, her expression goes smooth and relatively blank as she dips into the reserves of her memory, trying to sort out the meaning behind everything. She understood that 'Fire Claws' was his name, that was easy. She knew that Cliath was the first, basic rank. She didn't know what it was to be born of a stone skin, though, and she was pretty sure that he just said he was a Cliath, not an Adr-- oh, Stone Skin was a person, not a type of people. ...Alright, got it.
As she'd been thinking, her teeth found the piercing that stuck through the bottom and top of her lower lip and had been tugging it gently, a habit that many people with mouth piercings wound up developing. When her teeth parted from the metal she inquired plainly, honestly: "It's good to meet you, Fire Claws. ...I'm not certain what...," and she found she was having difficulty translating the wolf impression into English, "...all you had said there. I'm sorry, I'm still learning."
[Fire Claws] He slowly moves up to her, sniffing at the offered hand a moment. One could never be too careful in this scab, those that could be friends could easily be enemies. And the monkey born, they were a strange lot to begin with. However he does not recoil after getting her scent a bit more, something was different about her than others. Her smell was... confusing.
He tilted his head again and stared at her as she began on in her monkey jibberish. The act of pulling at the strange marking on her lips before talking again got him a little curious. Maybe it was some fetish. It would not be the weirdest thing he saw in this city. And he "huh'ed" in the way a wolf would, pulling his head back and up. Staring at her.
{ws}
"Cub? Where's your teacher?"
[Gwen Sullivan] She'd never had a full conversation with a wolf before. This had her remembering The Jungle Book and how the boy would sit in his skin and nothing else, holding full conversations with the wolves in their own tongue even if he couldn't use ears or a tail to help. She wondered for a moment if she was growling and snorting without realizing it, and paid more attention to herself the next time she spoke to realize that no, she was still using real English.
In a way of showing more attention to him, or perhaps showing respect, she pulled her legs up off the edge of the dock and turned to face the wolf that stood before her on the rotting wood, folding her legs indian-style like she had been taught in preschool and letting her hands come together relaxed in her lap.
"You know, that's a wonderful question. She said she was going, but didn't really mention where or how long." One shoulder lifts and falls in a shrug, like she wasn't very worried. Alethea could take care of herself, she didn't need to be monitored. "She'll be back when she's done, I'm sure."
There's a pause of uncertainty, then she leaned back a little and frowned softly. "Oh sh-.. Should I leave? The Warder let me in, but I didn't know I needed an escort."
[Fire Claws] He watched her as she swung her body around to face him. Her arms dropping into her lap and her body gives no indication of a possible threat. Then again what could the squishy, fleshy form of the monkey skin really do to a wolf. There was no real threat while she was in homid.
And when she sat down he did too, his tail moving back and forth across the wood. His eyes focused on her now. This Sept was indeed strange, those with cubs under their protection wandered around alone. Without a careful eye to watch them, that would never go over well in his home. Whoever was her mentor would be dragged before the Sept and beaten... until unconscious or.. dead.
{ws}
"No. Cubs should not be be alone. Your too young. Vulnerable. We are at war."
[Gwen Sullivan] "Hmm."
The sound is simple, contemplative. She reached up to tossle her fire-engine red hair with fingernails painted to match, then dragged it back out of her face and tucked it behind her ears, drawing attention to the fact that her ears were gauged, and considerably at that. Hands once again settled in her lap, and her shoulders pushed back to relieve pressure in her back with a quiet grinding-popping sound when all the vertebrae popped back where they ought to be.
"I understand that. ...But am I not even safe alone here?" She gestured about the Caern proper, and gestured over her shoulder out into the lake. "Adamidas said that this big guy idling out here is keeping these grounds safe, along with the Warder and his pack."
[Simon Zahradnik] Simon was whistling softly to himself as he walked. Bat slung over his shoulder. Black hoodie and jeans keeping him from getting too cold(In the event it started to get particularly chilly). He carried himself with a sense of certainty and confidence that screamed Full Moon.
[Fire Claws] This sept was much more progressive than he ever thought to begin with. Cubs wandered the Sept without worry of being pounded down for possibly making an mistake and taking a beating for it. Nor did the kin have to worry that they were in the middle of a war and the city was filled with horrible creatures that could come out and eat them. Mentors didn't have to watch their wards so as to not have them do something stupid and be blamed for it. A real progressive Sept.
{ws}
"Caern safe from wyrm. But mistakes, no. What do you know of our laws, rules?"
[Gwen Sullivan] It would be ignorant of her to insist that her home was safe as well. Adamidas had drilled into her head that absolutely no place was absolutely safe. There literally could be a monster in her closet or under her bed. It was unlikely, since she hadn't come to any harm or been warped by its presence, but it could happen, and no matter how much you paid a month for your high tech security system, nothing would stop it from making its appearance and settling in.
But she was a Garou, right? She was supposed to be able to defend herself and others.
But I still barely even know how to throw a punch, let alone kill.
He asked what she knew, and it was here that she leveled her chin to the ground for a moment, drew in a breath that puffed up her chest a touch, like she was going to show off exactly how much she knew. ...But this was reconsidered, and her posture relaxed back to where it had been initially.
"I do know the Litany, and I believe that I understand most of it. Do you want me to say it all back for you?"
People cut through the Caern from time to time, Gwen knew this. She noticed that Simon was there, off in the distance, but didn't pay a whole hell of a lot of mind to him. After all, he wasn't paying much mind to her and her new wolf acquaintance either.
[Fire Claws] He watched her when she thought over the idea of what she learned, what she was told. The law was the law, it was universal across the tribes. But there were certain rules one would have to remember forr certain tribes. Especially around a forseti.
{ws}
"Yes repeat them to me."
But just as he barked out the semi-command to the little cubling, he heard that whistle and the smell of a familair wolf. One he hunted with last night, one who worked to aid in the good death. The proper way of thr rite. His eyes moving off from the cub to the sky. The man with the bat, and a bark in greeting.
[Simon Zahradnik] The bark caught his attention and he shifted his gaze in the direction of the Wolf from the other night. Fenrir if he recalled... He deferred to Kora which showed his loyalty to his tribe which was all well and good. Tribal Loyalty was one of those things certain tribes were known to hold or have or something.
He slowly made his way closer. Smiling first to the Wolf and second towards Gwen. Eyes sweeping over the young woman, not in the leering lecherous way but more in the curious manner that implied he might be sizing up the potential of the younger Garou.
He was quiet he heard some mention of the Litany and the wolf asking that it be repeated so he lowered his bat to the floor, rested his hand upon it and waited quietly to hear the Litany repeated. Couldn't hurt to be reminded of the rules by a newcomer or anyone else... You know so you don't break any!
[Gwen Sullivan] Fire Claws twisted to look back at the man that was walking by deeper into the Caern, and Gwen lifted her chin and pressed herself a little taller to look past him, to get a better view of the man he was calling after. She saw dark hair, a heavily muscled build, and the kind of stride that was nearly a swagger. If he came over she'd introduce herself then, but for now she'd comply to the wolf's telling her to recite the Litany.
"Garou Shall Not Mate With Garou
Combat the Wyrm Wherever it Dwells and Whenever it Breeds
Respect the Territory of Another
Accept an Honorable Surrender
Submission to Those of Higher Station
The First of Kill for the Greatest of Station
Ye Shall Not Eat the Flesh of Humans
Respect Those Beneath Ye, All Are of Gaia
The Veil Shall Not Be Lifted
Do Not Suffer Thy People to Tend Thy Sickness
The Leader May Be Challenged at Any Time During Peace
The Leader May Not Be Challenged During Wartime
Ye Shall Take No Action That Causes a Caern to be Violated"
She parroted them all back as though they'd been memorized like a script. That was something that should cause concern, make you wonder if she really understood them or not, but she followed up by disclosing: "I know the purposes behind them too, don't worry. I'm supposed to know at least that, so I drilled it in." It was way more important than Chemistry was in her life right now anyways.
Simon had come to join, to listen to her recant the laws of their people, and when she'd finished she looked up to him, nodded, smiled around a lower and upper lip piercing, and spoke. "Hello."
[Fire Claws] When she finished, his tongue seemed to drop out of his mouth. But it was almost as if he was smriking. She was given the Litany and she learned it quickly. It was likely that she also learned one reason as to why they were there. But a thought came to his head, she didn't seem to feel it. She didn't speak with any passion, just words. Monkey words. He thought back to his mentor and what he was told.
{ws}
"No fire."
If she was his ward, she would be made to learn from that. Made to learn why that was so poor, they were more than just jibberish. They meant something, as important as air.
{ws}
"Which is most important?"
[Simon Zahradnik] Simon had his lower lip pierced himself. So it was somewhat amusing to meet someone who had an appreciation for Body Art. He listened as she ran through the litany. His smile remained and he didn't interject or show much in the way of personal opinion as she spouted their rules off one by one. It wasn't really his place to have an opinion on their laws and how to interpret them after all.
When she greets him he nods his head."Simon."He says back to her politely. Allowing her to keep up with her little lesson simply listening and watching. He was getting a feel for the young woman. Might as well get to know a little bit about everyone right?
[Gwen Sullivan] She frowned a little at his question and adjusted how she was sitting, unfolding her legs and instead bending them so the flat rubber soles of her sneakers were on the rotting wooden planks of the dock and her knees were jutted up into the air, legs left apart in a way quite unfeminine, but she could care less because she was wearing jeans and not a skirt. A hair elastic was snapped off of her wrist and her hair, in a style that had it cut in varying layers, the longest of which went just past her shoulders, was gathered at the back of her head and secured there in a ponytail that was more efficient than flattering.
"That's like asking whether it's worse to murder or rape." A pause, a moment for impact perhaps. "There's no such thing as a 'most important' law. If you look at one as more important then you ignore the others and let them slide... then soon everything starts to slide and all you've got left is anarchists. Maybe they won't jaywalk? But everything's still gone to hell."
Normally she would've given her name back to Simon, but Fire Claws was engaging and this Simon guy was content to watch and listen for now. She'd get a chance to talk with him after this, she figured.
[Fire Claws] He listens to her explain, listens to her voice as she begin to explain such an idea. That all laws were equally the same His tongue dropped from hios mouth, lolling there for a moment. His bark more aggressive than the command to repeat the litany.
{ws}
"Then where is pride in law? More than monkey words. Like how you defended them. Each important. Speak them with reverence."He wanted to claw at her, teach her the same way he was taught. Teach her the way a wolf learns, through blood and sweat. Through life and death. However he turns to Simon now as he stood over the pair. Engaging him now.
{ws}
"This how all cubs in Sept learn?"
[Simon Zahradnik] His attention was largely focused on Gwen as the two spoke back and forth though he managed to shift his attention down to the wolf when he was addressed. He paused to ponder the question he was asked before looking back up to Gwen."It really depends on the tribe in question and the auspice of the cub. I mean if she were a Full Moon you can bey my training would be a bit more harsh... That is if I was training her."He says with a nod of his head.
"You seem to be doing pretty good though. I mean I don't know what a Half Moon should know... You're doing good as far as i can tell so far."
[Gwen Sullivan] Gwen's mouth pressed thin around the sterling piercings in her lips, causing typically pink flesh to pale some. A flash of indignancy lit up eyes that were more on the green-gray end of the hazel spectrum, and the air burned warm around her. Her molars ground, and her eyes hopped out to the reflection of the full moon on the lake, from there to the shadows of the giant empty ships cast by it onto the ground. Her ears and neck felt really warm, but her focus was cut away from that when Simon spoke to her directly.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah, thanks, I guess." And she shrugged, though her shoulders were tighter now than they had been. "I'm just working with what I've been told, okay? Adamidas said she was a... Theurge."
Another pause, then. "I'm Gwen, by the way. Philodox. No tribe yet, I guess."
[Fire Claws] (Are you given me Lip young lady? Percept+Empathy)
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 1, 5, 10, 10 (Success x 1 at target 5)
[Simon Zahradnik] He grins a little when she finally offers a name."Gwen... This won't do. We need to get you a deed name. Have you killed anything yet? That was the best part for me."He adds with a little laugh."Philodox without a tribe... I guess that makes you the universal Philodox the one who walks the line between all tribes and shall unite us all together as one?"He asks her with a tilt of his head."I like that one... You should go with that. I have no tribe! The Nation is my Tribe and the Garou are my People!"He laughs a little and extends a hand in her direction.
"Or you can totally join mine if you like. Not everyone can make the cut but we'll willingly accept anyone who can make it in."He adds with a nod of his head."Plus we get together in black robes in the darkness and cut ourselves and talk about how depressing and meaningless life is together. It's pretty fuckin' sweet."He laughs again, making a little jab at his own tribe.
[Fire Claws] His eyes watched her, but it was the subtle change in her scent that gave her away. The feeling in the air. Then there is her body, the look in her eyes, the set of her jaw, the way she seemed to just brush against the beast, the true nature of what she was. He could feel it and he watched her.
{ws}
"No wonder. Godi know spirits. Do not feel the deeper truth."
And when Bone-Grinder spoke, going off on a tangent about having no tribe or name. He seems to forget whatever he was saying. Monkey jabber, useless. His brow sets in disgust. Unsure of what he was saying.
{ws}
"Do Shadowlords have a half moon in Sept?"
[Gwen Sullivan] Gwen stared almost blandly up at Simon as he spoke, and looked at his hand when he extended it to her past the wolf that had approached her first. The more he spoke about being She Who Brings Peace, the blander her expression became. But when he started joking about his own tribe, a small grin quirked one corner of her mouth. A hand lifted to sweep her bangs off to one side of her forehead rather than let them continue hanging in her eyes, and she replied in a very dry voice.
"Doesn't sound like my kind of party. I bet you guys throw twenty-sided dice too."
When you hang out with a bunch of stoners, of course you know what D&D is.
Fire Claws spoke (or more growled and whuffed), and she looked at him, then when he addressed Simon she looked up to the Ahroun expectantly again.
[Simon Zahradnik] He shrugs his shoulders."I don't know we're pretty secretive and shit... We probably don't even all know who all is in the tribe. It's better that way... Best to keep us from trying to kill eachother right?"He asks Fire Claws with a playful smile before turning his attention back towards Gwen."Well sure... I mean Roleplayers tend to be among the top 5% of the population intelligence wise right? I mean you can't have a tribe who prides Intelligence as among the greatest strengths a person can have without having roleplayers right?"He asks her with a bit of a grin.
"But seriously... Ever heard of Natural Selection? Of course you have... Just figured I'd give a little Plug. The Shadow Lords welcome all those who can pull their asses up out of the muck and dare to be something greater."He says with a grin."We accept strength in all its forms and welcome any who have the balls to stand up for whatever the fuck it is they believe in. We're in this war to win and we allow nothing to stand in that way. So I mean if that's the kinda thing you think you're into we'd always be more than happy to have you along if not. Well we only take volunteers right? So no biggie."He adds with a little grin.
[Fire Claws] Once again Fire Claws just looked at Gwen with confusion, what was a dice and why did it have 20 sides. More so what exactly did it have to do with the shadowlords. More monkey confusion. Some more banter about things that did not matter, he just turned back to Simon. Nearly ignoring the cub now.
She was being insignificant.
{ws}
"Strange. What exactly is..." his howls and barks were having a hard time getting the words together. "players of rolling?"
[Gwen Sullivan] She looked at Fire Claws when he sincerely asked about role-playing, and had a moment of immaturity where some part of her mind wanted to laugh out loud. But the rest of her decided that this was the wrong topic of conversation for their setting and audience. So she decided to let the whole nerdy D&D joke die out, while Simon had instead chosen to elaborate on it.
Rather, she counters his pressuring to come with him to the Dark Side, if you will, by shaking her head and pulling her lip piercing into her mouth for a second before she spoke.
"Simon, with all due respect, if I took only your word for what a party you are a part of and support is and does, then I would be at a pretty big disadvantage. No one ever tells you the full story on your own. I'd have to ask around to see what other people think of the Shadow Lords... and from what I've already heard from people other than you? Well, cloak and dagger isn't quite my style.
"So, like I said, not my kind of party. Thanks."
[Simon Zahradnik] He shrugs."A party... I like that... How a history that goes back over one hundred thousand years is labeled a party. You know like the caucasian party or the zebra party. We're not really parties we're peoples whose cultures have lingered on this planet since about the time humans crawled out of the trees and learned to use sticks to collect sap."He says with a chuckle."No it's cool... Formulate an opinion get a feel. Just saying we're always accepting those who think they have what it takes to make the cut. Do or don't... Not really my concern what you choose just extending the offer."He smiles a little."Not really a quantity tribe. We only take the best. But anyone's welcome to give it a try"He says with a shrug of his shoulders.
He then turns his attention to Fire Claws."It's a human thing... It's not really something you would care much for. Human game really, gotta have hands just to roll the dice. Would bore the shit out of a wolf."
[Fire Claws] He quickly turns to Gwen and snarls at her, snapping at her for interrupting his question with Simon. His body moved from sitting to a stance. Not overtly aggressive, but a stance ready to take her on if she thought to get out of line.
{ws}
"Mistake cub. You listen and reserve jugement. You are to learn. Earn your right to speak."
She was definately uneducated, fresh. Raw. But even a pup learned its place quickly enough. Learned the way of the pack, where they stood in the overall. Monkey cubs had too much.... freedom for his liking. That was what happened when a theurge took the place to teach a forseti.
[Gwen Sullivan] The vicious snarl cut the air to discipline her, but immediately hackles go up in response. Were the moon thinner, little more than a sliver in the sky, then perhaps she would recoil by reflex, be fearful before anything else, and that's stressing the word 'perhaps'. With the moon a complete disc in the sky, though, her body tenses and her hands find the dock's planks for more balance, lifting her rear end so that she wasn't sitting any more but crouched instead.
Her eyes flashed, the green more prominent than the gray for a moment when the wolf leaks through to lend some yellow to the equation, but she bites this back with a heavy click of teeth on her piercing, swallowing a rather thick lump in her throat, and by sitting back down, this time firmly on top of her hands.
A scowl is etched into her face now, her muscles quiver with repression of reaction...
...but she sits still and quiet.
[Simon Zahradnik] He grins a little and shrugs his shoulder before looking back at Gwen."It's a rank thing... He's not trying to be a dick or maybe he is. i dunno but we're technically not what you're used to. We're more like the army, we've got our own set of rules and regulations for a reason. When you're actively fighting a war it doesn't help to have everyone passing votes and all that. It's best to have a clear and well defined leader and all that crap. Don't worry you'll get used to it and soon enough you'll be smacking brats your age around cause they were speaking out of turn."
[Fire Claws] He shakes his head a little when she sits down. She couldn't hide it so well, not from one naturally born for Gaia. The wolf in him could smell it, could tell it. She might act like she was being obedient and respectful. But he could sense she wanted to talk back, wanted to snap back at him. It was her monkey brain that kept her from getting her neck held in his muzzle.
{ws}
"Lucky you are not Fenrir. You would learn well. If you survive to your rite. You may fine a good death one day."
His eyes fall back on Simon again, ears moving from being pinned to his head back to perked. Tail movign ocne more.
{ws}
"Honor's Compass~rhya will need to learn of this."
[Gwen Sullivan] She glanced between Simon and Fire Claws for a moment, but settled on letting her eyes come to rest on the hull of a ship.
She studied the markings, painted new ones on it in her mind, and in an effort that could only be labeled as futile, she attempted to pretend that the moon wasn't drawing a searing hot heat to the surface of her back and shoulders. Instead she toyed with her lip piercing and sat in sullen, simmering silence.
[Simon Zahradnik] He shrugs his shoulders."Don't back down... Not to the Fenrir and especially not to a Shadow Lord. You're a cub and you might have to earn the right to speak. You might have no tribe to represent you... But don't back down. It's how you wind up on the bottom in Garou society. Wolves stand tall even in defeat."He says with a shrug of his shoulder to Gwen. In his own way trying to reassure her that this wasn't a terrible place to be.
"We fight a lot... Sometimes we fight each other with as much brutality as we do our enemies. You're a Half Moon that means some day it's gonna be your job to get your ass up and right between two dudes like me who are about to tear each other's faces off and knock us on our asses. Learn quickly... The faster you learn the more quickly you will earn your place. Don't let anyone make you their bitch. If they do... That's your own fucking problem."
He then turns his attention towards Fire Claws."Ya think so? You know we've got this chick who has no tribe and no rank who we only know to be a Philodox and no one has actually thought... Hey we should tell the elder Philodox about this chick? Yes we should fucking tell Honor's Compass about her."
[Fire Claws] He barks back to Simon when he begins to explain it all to her. Some things should not be explained, they should be felt. It was in the instinct that made them great hunters, great warriors. Some things needed to be taught, others known. Monkeys seem to forget that fact very quickly when they grew.
{ws}
"Don't tell her. She will repeat it back. No fire. No inner strength. She must feel it."
A half-moon needed to more than just know the law, they must feel it. The righteousness within each word, each action that drives you. It must be more than words, it must be passion. Conviction. Knowing what is right and wrong and pressing through to the truth. These are things that create the judges of the Nation. He turns and watches her seem to look away, try and hold back her rage.
{ws}
"Maybe we should get Barks Secrets~yuf too. She has the making of a omega already."
[Gwen Sullivan] "Hey now."
The words, just the words alone, are relatively mild considering the fact that we're looking at a 17-year-old werewolf under a full moon, the kind of teenager that has gauges in her ears and piercings in her lips, the girl that just got suspended from school today for putting bruises on a poor girl's neck. However, it wasn't the words, it was the Rage behind them to consider.
She didn't jump to her feet to show her protest, but she did move her hands out from beneath her rear end and used them as she spoke, gesturing here or there lightly rather than with exaggeration.
"First I'm supposed to respect and defer to my elders, which would be both of you, but when I do I get told I have no fire and that I'm an omega? It's contradictory. Sure, I could sass back, but then I get beaten, or bitten, or god knows what. I'm supposed to defer, and when I earn my right I speak up.
"...Or am I just severely misinformed? Please, tell me what the Law says about that."
[Simon Zahradnik] [Dex+Brawl]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 7, 8, 10 (Failure at target 10) Re-rolls: 1
[Gwen Sullivan] [Dex + Dodge]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 5, 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Simon Zahradnik] The funny thing about Simon was his youth. He spoke and acted with a degree of experience that implied he was older than his meager nineteen years of age. Yet he'd been a warrior for well over five of those. War changes a man and it showed in his eyes as she spoke up. His smile grew and he listened to her as she spoke.
Before she could finish his hand lifted and smacked her across the mouth. It was a sudden and a powerful smack and it would likely leave a bruise in the morning if the Garou didn't happen to recover so easily from their wounds. His smile however remained and he met her eyes directly."Shut up and quit whining. If there's one thing Garou can't stand it's a whiner. No one said this shit was easy but you gotta learn quickly. Learn quickly or die it's pretty much how the game works."
[Fire Claws] He turned on her and almost snapped back at her. But Simon moved first, his hand moving to claim first blood. And it connects, nothing that would kill the young cub, but something that would give her something to learn from. Sometimes shadow lords and Fenrir were not that far apart.
Sometimes.
When she recoils from the slap, he waits to speak. Simon making his point first. The wolf snaps at her now, harsh barking. The girl's eyes were watering most likely. But he continued like she was still in her right senses.
{ws}
"How long do you think that will last? Before you are beaten or bitten or claws or burned, poisoned, shoot, stabbed or anything else the wyrm will do to you. This Sept is at war and weak, fearful garou do us no good."
[Gwen Sullivan] Simon had stepped forward toward her, and the girl rose to her feet to meet him, scowling hard, refusing to play the role of the insolent child to the point that she would stay sitting on the ground and look up at him while he scolded her from above. So she stood, only to be met with a hard slap to the face. She saw it coming, sure, but she wasn't fast enough and was far from being a trained warrior, so even though she flinched away from the blow it hit true anyways.
Her cheek stung red, her left eye watered up, and left and right eyes both seemed to glaze red (from her point of view) for a moment or two. Fire Claws is growling and snapping at her, giving some kind of a lesson about bravery, but she's far more focused on Simon's face and that smug, stupid smile that he wore.
"Oh motherfucker," was her declaration before she swung a right fist toward that smile.
[Init + 5]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 9
[Simon Zahradnik] [Dex+Wits= 8+]
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 7 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Fire Claws] (Inits 9+)
Dice Rolled:[ 1 d10 ] 10
[Gwen Sullivan] [Declare: Punch Simon in his Smug Smile]
[Fire Claws] (FC will wait for now. Activate Resist Pain, just in case Simon goes all ragey under the full moon.)
[Simon Zahradnik] 1a: Grin more brightly, take the punch, Punch Back
R1: Punch Again!
Then hopefully we will post again!
[Gwen Sullivan] [Dex + Brawl: Don't judge me, I'm a teenage girl]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Gwen Sullivan] [Damage: Str + 2 (B)]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 4, 6, 10 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Simon Zahradnik] [Soak that shit!]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 5, 9 (Failure at target 6)
[Simon Zahradnik] [Dex+Totem+Brawl]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Simon Zahradnik] [Str+Totem+2]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Gwen Sullivan] [Soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 7, 8 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Simon Zahradnik] [Punch 2: Dex+Totem+Brawl]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 3, 4, 5, 5, 7, 7, 7, 9, 10 (Success x 5 at target 6) Re-rolls: 1
[Simon Zahradnik] [Str+Totem+4]
Dice Rolled:[ 8 d10 ] 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Gwen Sullivan] [Soak]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 2, 5, 6 (Success x 1 at target 6)
[Simon Zahradnik] Simon takes her punch with a grin. It hurt a little but he didn't seem bothered or troubled by the pain. In fact his eyes only lit up and shortly after her punch he followed up with another punch and another. Two solid punches that did little more than jar though they would certainly be enough to startle anyone!
"That's the fire... Tghat's the fucking spark. That right there is what it means to be garou. You're pissed then fucking say so. You feel shit is fucked up then fucking say so... You think it's fucked up that some dude just smacked you in the face then punch him right the fuck back. We're not human... We might look like 'em, smell like em, and fuck like 'em but that's where the similarities end. Our world is bloody violent and mean and if you can't learn goddamn quickly what that means then some fucking monster is gonna corner you in the street... And you are not gonna like what he does to your corpse and you're gonna like even less what he does while you're still alive."
"You're mad... Get fucking mad. It's who you are! Don't let anyone push you the fuck around. We're garou we fight! We stand the fuck up and fight..."He says before tossing his bat off into the distance and keeping his eyes locked upon her."Show me what you got... Whatever you've got I've had worse. Whatever you could imagine doing to me... I've done worse. You're not a girl anymore... You're garou. Embrace that... Live with it! Be the fucking beast!"
[Fire Claws] A flurry of punches fly as the little philodox in training steps up to the big bad wolf. She connects slightly, giving him a nice bruise that will clear up in less than an hour. 2 hours if he decides to stay in his birth form. But the ahroun, seems to be taking it easy on her. Letting her vent her frustration, but not the fire that burns within. Her rage. It is just as potent as ever before. She has yet to learn to master harnessing such power. Something she will need to learn over time.
He was more intent on Simon. This was a valuable lesson, something that all garou must learn in the dying days, the end times so near, that one must step up or be killed in a second. A wasted body in the war.
[Gwen Sullivan] "Oh just shut the fuck up."
The teenager snarls the words at the Ahroun, fists clenched at her sides, face red on one side from the slap, flushed everywhere else with anger and indignation. Her posture was rigid not with battle readiness, but with an amateur's anger, one who let their body do precisely what it wanted because they hadn't trained it otherwise in such situations. A hand rose fast and sharp, but not to strike again, instead for her to jab a finger in his direction.
"If you talk that fucking much in a real fight, then it's some grace of god that you're still alive to keep flapping that smug-ass arrogant fucking trap of yours." There was something about the word 'fuck', and it is that the word itself is contagious. If you say it too close to someone, it'll catch like a cold and start running in their throats like mucus as well. Gwen and Simon were a perfectly fine example of this.
"I ain't gonna fight with you just to have you rub me into the dirt, and I ain't gonna stand here so that you can keep goading me until you get the chance to humiliate me further. So fuck right off."
And with that said, the teen moved to shoulder her way around the Ahroun and stomp off to god-knows-where.
[Simon Zahradnik] "I am here today because I have earned that right on the battlefield. I run my mouth because I have a mouth and you can sure as hell bet I am proud that I am still standing here today. I've earned my right to breathe with bloodshed and violence just like everyone here will."
He shakes his head as she slips past him."There is no humiliation in standing up... We face enemies that could kill us in the blink of an eye at any given moment. We stand when everyone else flees in terror. We stand up and we fight against overwhelming odds... Sometimes we win. Sometimes we come home and everyone cheers and we get to hold our heads high knowing that we survived another battle. However, many times we do not. We stand and we die when the time to die has come. Any man who would laugh at someone who would stand the fuck up and show they have the balls to fight someone they know would kill them isn't worth the air they breathe. It's called fucking courage and I would kill anyone who would mock someone for having it. Sometimes it's the only fucking thing we have."She is walking away, she is angry and he is pretty certain she doesn't want to speak to him at this point but those words were left. Something for her to mull over and think about.
[Fire Claws] He begins to pad away when Simon starts to scream at the top of his lungs to her, teach her some lesson about courage and fighting and living and dying. Monkeys made horrible garou, no instinct left in them. Too much nintendo, television and those damn iPods. It was this monkey generation and the weaver's touch.
He cuffs back over his shoulder as he pads away. Just moving towards the gathering place.
{ws}
"I will tell Honor's Compass~rhya. And maybe not Barks~Secrets... yet."
And that he pads off, much to hunt tonight indeed.
[Gwen Sullivan] Gwen let Simon speak to her back, she didn't care just so long as she got past him and was able to put him behind her. She didn't stop to hear his lecture about courage and glory and being the last line of defense. She's already heard this before, she understood the importance of the War, honestly she did.
But right now the moon was too full, tempers were too high, and she was already bothered enough without having to put humiliation of having her ass kicked up and down a dock put on top of that. She didn't know how well she could handle her own temper anymore.
The only pause she made was to stoop down and scoop a hoodie up off the ground, where it had blended into shadows and dirt. She threw it on, hiked the hood up over her head, jammed her hands into her pockets, and made her seething, Rage-filled escape toward the Bawn.
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