Restraint and Order

Once the prodigals had finished speaking and discussing their options with the newest tagalog, Eaton took a seat benieth the largest tree in the grove and produced his worn journal. He crossed his legs, relieved that he could rest his aching feet for the day. As he meditated on what the previous day had brought, pictures, stills of the events played in his mind. The encounter with the Storm Eater, the stories of Roaring Jack and his kin, the challenge that changed the course of the Get of Fenris, the flight from the moot, the battle with Ferir's warriors . . . Before he could put the pencil to the paper his brow furrowed, looking up from his book  and thoughts to their Philodox, who stood a short distance away working out that he would take watch after Zoe. Eaton rose from his place, took a few steps toward Zas, still wearing his troubled frown. Once the Theurge had gone to take up her post, the Gaillard confronted Zas:

"So I was gonna mention this earlier, but we kinda had more pressin' issues. Now that we've got a chance to catch our breaths, I was wonderin': Were you intendin' to kill Demon Skewer? Or has Rends just taught ya to play too rough?"

Zas turned his focus from Zoe and having her agree to get him for the next watch, to an unexpected question from Eaton.

The Silent Strider paused before giving his answer, taking a long look at his hands before looking back to Eaton and saying with a straight face, "I'm not entirely sure."

He takes another pause as he says, "I was mad at Roaring Jacks death-at seeing the work of uniting the Uktena with the Fenrir come to serve a twisted master. Rage boiled within me. Luna's face fanned my internal fire...and I told Rends that we would strike that night. I don't know that my target was specific at that point."

He looks back to his hands and says, "When we were attacked though-I did use the lessons taught me by our alpha. For every moment you don't subdue your opponent-you give them the opportunity to kill you...strike hard and put your enemy down quickly..."

Zas then turns to Eaton and says, "I cannot say that the wyrm guided my hands, nor that my head was clear. I can only say that I was glad to see Demon Skewer rise once more."

He takes a breath, "Does that answer your question?"

Eaton raised an eyebrow at the Philodox's reply, "Not quite."

doing his best to keep his voice from becoming a growth, he continued, "Why did ya decide that was the time to put Rends's advice to use? I'm pretty sure the Steel Reaver's weren't gonna kill us; the way they were fightin' showed they were keepin' their hand. If they wanted us dead, they wouldn't have blown smoke at us when they charged; they'd have torn our limbs off and shoved 'em down one another's throat."

Pausing just for a second, he added, "And I understand bein' pissed at Jack's passing, but everyone was riled up from that. The reason I wanted to talk to ya 'bout this was this: So ya manage to kill Demon Splitter. What's that gonna do, cause Swiftdeath to throw up his hands in defeat, or declare war against the prodigals and tear apart whichever member of our pack he manages to get his claws on?"

Zas listens as the prodigal Galliard explains his motive for the questions. When he had finished, Zas gives a sigh-not out of frustration but rather out of a sense of a lack of a will to argue.

"I can't defend my actions other than to say that I did what I did in the heat of the moment. I won't say what I did was right. I wasn't thinking of how Swiftdeath would react, or what position we would be in..."

He takes a breath, ""We had the chance to run. We didn't run. The fact that they wore armor made them seem more threatening. I reacted to that threat."

He grits his teeth, "A philodox is supposed to keep his balance. I'm supposed to think clearly. I war with my own fury-to keep it in check."

Zas clenches his fist, "I lost."

Zas loosens his grip and turns to Eaton, and with a look of sincerity says, "I'm sorry."

Eaton gave an uneasy smile, "Well, if it makes ya feel any better, I had a talk with Rends a little while back over somethin' similar. We might be able to slay just about any foe that crosses our path, but that doesn't mean it's okay if we lose our heads. I think I was gettin' worried that you mighta been gettin' dismissive about somethin' as valuable another Garou's life."

Eaton continued, "Killin' what stands in front of you mighta take care of the problem now, but there's gonna be repercussions for what comes next. Maybe the Get'll let it slide cause he wasn't put down, but there was a line between disagreein' with the Get and makin' 'em our enemy."

He thought for a second, considering his words, as he asked, "This seems more of a case of misguided rage. But considerin' what you did to one of his lackeys, do you think Robert deserves death for what he's done?"

Zas's expression noticeably shifts, "Taking a Garou's life should not be something done lightly. I regret that I did."

When he mentioned there being a difference between disagreement and war, Zas nods and says, "There are repercussions for all our decisions. We made our stance known-that we do not follow Robert, by freeing the Shadowlord. I guess in a way-I added my own declaration: that those who follow his orders will be held accountable for their choice which could very likely lead to their death."

At Eatons question, Zas huffs initially about to snap out a reply but then bites his lip as he considers the idea. "Prior to speaking with the Uktena-I would have said he deserved nothing other than death for he had stolen the mantle of leadership with the tools of the wyrm."

Zas sighs, "I do not like Robert. I certainly don't respect him. He is a glory hound and a thief who likes the sound of his own voice. Does this mean that he deserves death?

I think he needs to be taught the value of humility and the danger of pride. I won't be sorry when his reign of the Fenrir ends. He is not meant to lead. I do not feel that his death should be at my hands-but if he refuses to learn those lessons, his death should come swiftly from the hand of one of his tribesmen for the safety of everyone."

Zas gives a hard stare, "I truly hope the message we sent was received loud and clear. I want him to make no mistake-I do not support him or his bloody crusade. If that makes him my enemy, so be it. His arrogance will be his downfall and he will taste his own blood before the end."

"Well, seems there ain't much left fer me to say then."

Rends nods to his two packmates as he joins them, puffing casually on his pipe. He turns to Zas, his eyes serious.

"I was meanin' to speak to you about last night too, but I reckon Eaton said what I woulda said better'n I coulda. All I'll add is that no matter who's calling the shots my Tribesmen are not our enemies. They made it clear they wasn't fightin' to kill, and you should have honored those terms. Thankfully it didn't matter, but if we go murderin' Get jest for followin' orders we's only robbin' the Nation of her best warriors. Next time, we fight to win but not kill."

He holds eye contact with Zas until he's sure he's understood, then addresses both of them.

"That said, they will be a next time. I reckon we got a few days 'afore any persuin' packs catch up with us. But we can use that to our advantage. We's already started undermining Robert's authority, and we'll have the chance to carry it on when whoever he sends catches up with us. Any ideas fer how best we can send a message back to Robert? I've got a couple but I wanna hear what y'all gotta say."

Eaton regarded Zas' words, believing that this was an unfortunate anomaly as apposed to behavior he thought was justified. No real reason to linger on the subject now; the lesson had been learned, no reason to berate or chastise.

His mind then turned to the Arhoun as he spoke to Rends, "What other messages are we wantin' to send? We already bailed on the moot before plegin' allegiance, told Warbreath and his posse to piss off, ruffed up his hunters real good- are we wanting to send another message in the flavor of 'we don't support you', or more of a, 'we are actively plotting your downfall'?"

At Rends comment Zas gives him a long stare. "It didn't have to come to a fight at all. We could have left with the Shadowlord as soon as Mocks freed her. There was no need to fight. I take responsibility for what I did, and I admit I didn't want to leave without a fight but I could have gotten us out of there long before they got near us...but you chose to stand your ground-to stay, and I had your back. Gaia willing I always will. Your life and the life of our pack means everything-and if it comes between me having to choose between saving your life and killing another Garou or not-the other Garou is going to die or I will in the process.

It worked out in the end-as you say. Your pack is not weak in the eyes of your tribesmen. You declared your stance and embarrassed the new leader-All at once. So that's something."


When Rends asks for ideas Zas looks to Eaton and then says "We could convert our pursuers. Have them help us carry out our goal in cleansing Houston. If it's half as bad as we've been led to believe-it should be easy enough for them to see a Black Spiral in need of Fenrir attention. When they do not return to Robert with us in tow-the message will be clear."

Rends shakes his head at Eaton.

"Running wasn't an option once they found us. Wed have lost face and looked like cowards to the rest of the Fenrir. I wanted to show them and all Roberts folks that wes in the path of right. I weren't expectin' it to be such a decisive win, but I'll take it as a sign that Great Fenris supports us."

He takes a slow drag, blowing smoke out through his nose.

"We started something last night. We gonna be impossible for Robert to ignore now. He has to reign us in or risk losing support right off the bat. Why would the Fenrir fight for someone what can't even bring some coyote pups in line? We need to undermine his war effort so someone else can step in and challenge him."

Zas considers Rends for a moment before asking, "We are unpredictable-the throat tearers admit that much. You truly think the Get eldest views us as that much of a game changer?"

An idea runs through Zas and after a moment he quietly asks, "Would you do it? Would you challenge him?"

"Unpredictable is one thing. I want to make us a symbol of the strength the Nation could have if it stands unified. I want to show the Nation that before we can preach to the Uktena about their own corruption we gotta get our assessment right with Gaia first. I want to be ready for what's coming. We ain't game changers yet, but in a few weeks i want Robert cursing our names and everyone around gim wondering how strong he can be if he let's us go unchecked."

Fire burns in his eyes, matching the red glow of the Burning pipeweed.

"And if it comes to it, I will challenge him and set my tribe right. Great Fenris is with us. I can feel it."

Zas nods, "How then do we become this symbol of strength to set your tribe on the right path? You said you had some ideas. What are you thinking?"

He pauses, "I've slowly been trying to repair the mend between the tribes to unite them as one since we met and have had little success. If you have another way-I am very interested."

Eaton stroked his bearded chin as he was somewhere between listening to his packmates and coming up with something that would possible get Swiftdeath to reconsider his opinion on the Prodigals. He then brought up,

"A big reason he's declarin' war on the Uktena is 'cause he ain't given second thought to shit we've found in the last few months, be it Zavala, Natchitoches, Crossroads, take yer pick. Considerin' actions speak louder than words, what ever goes down in Houston with Ford or Miracle might be enough to show there's problems right on his door step. And if the Wyrm thinks it can act subtle to not make so much attention, what if we escalated the situation, draw out it's servants so it's more visible, something the Get could sink their teeth into?"

He then gave an eye roll, "Though who I am kiddin;? it's us we're talkin' about. A show's gonna happen whether we want to or not."

Rends shook his head at Eaton.

"That's dangerous. Things tend to escalate 'round us regardless of what we do. It'll be way too easy fer it to go to far and get out of our control with an army ready to march campin' right there. We may have a Sept nearby, but if they's under the sway of the Masks we cain' count on them for support when the shit hits the fan. We's gonna have to take care of it ourselves, as careful as we can. Hell, if we's still planning on taking over the army we may have to put one of us in charge of it since we cain't trust nobody."

He turns to Zas.

"Which brings us back to the Get. I want to win over the packs Robert sends after us. Make 'em see we's in the right and doubt Robert and let them spread word with his warpacks. If he sends Get after us, that means beatin' em in a fight clean and quick like we did with the Reavers. Well mostly like with the Reavers..."

He cocks an eyebrow at Zas, but says nothing more about it.

"It may come to a brawl between our packs, but I reckon if I can I'll challenge their Alphas to a duel. That way it stays a Get affair and we don't have to worry about coverin' our asses if one of us falls. That's if he sends Get though. What do you reckon are the odds he'll send some of the Tonkawa after us? They stood up fer us, and let us go when they knew we was gonna be pissing on Robert. Can't be Killed knew that could come back on him and I respect the Hell out of him fer not stopping us when it'll probably hurt him, but some of his folks may be none too happy with us. What do you think?"

He looks between the two, deferring to their expertise on all things Native.

Zas considers for a moment and then says, "Swiftdeath did not seem to want to accept the Tonkawa. If you recall he was the main voice of opposition to them. He accepted them into the nation only when we cleared them of wrongdoing--and it seemed even this was done only begrudgingly.

I don't know that Robert trusts them to come after us without being chaperoned by his "true followers". That said-as much as they may not be inclined to harm us, their hands are somewhat tied as they recognize Robert as leader and if they are being monitored, they may be forced to act. What lengths they will go to aid us I am uncertain of, but I do feel that we can consider them friends if not allies."

Zas rubs his chin, "My concern is that we have a fight on multiple fronts. We know of the witches and their scheming ways that as best we can figure tie back to Houston, in addition to the army headed by Ford and Miracle also in Houston. This lies before us. Now on top of that we have the Get on our tails. Now we head to a new Caern where we are concerned of possible corruption and a slew of other foes. We need to find a way to be ready to face all of them or to pick an order of targets.

It could easily happen that we best the Houston scenario and find ourselves drained yet facing a fresh pack of Get intent on bringing us to Robert, or vice versa. Whatever we decide-we need to remember that this isn't going to be a single fight-we need to pace ourselves."

Eaton let out a loud exhale before he said,"That'd be different, sendin' the Tonkawa after us. Then again, without Illiana they may be the best hope he's got of findin' the other Uktena. I don't see he would trust them enough to bring us in anyhow; they already let us go once before. If he did send 'em, I doubt it be to fight us to more try and swing us over on his side. Or allow them to lure us closer to the Get themselves can deal with us."

He then turned to Zas, "All these different factions against us what I'm concerned about. We still have someone huntin' the Igohida for their own purposes, and we find more Weepin' moon creeps under every rock we overturn. Our best hope for Robert is that he wastes time out west before finally getinn' his head out of his ass and realizin' that our cities have been overrun. At worst, he'll slay innocent Garou who might be the only ones who truely know how to fight the wyrm."

He then catches himself, with a, 'did I just say that out loud,' look on his face.