Zoe and Rends rant about Robert

The Prodigals stalked through Galveston on their way to O’Toole’s home. They moved carefully, not desiring to draw unnecessary attention. Zoe lagged behind the group a few paces, her face betraying her barely contained rage at the situation Robert had put them in.

“He’s gone too far this time…too far,” she mumbled to herself. “I’ll show him what an Urrah is capable of. I’ll show all of them…”

"Now I'm not normally the one to be the calmin' voice, but I guess I'm into tryin' new things lately. "

Rends sidled up beside the Theurge, stuffing a pinch of tobacco into his well used pipe.

"He shouldn't a said what he did. Weren't right. But it ain't like you to lose your temper like this. Besides, if you go and kill Robert we'll probably have to put Pickles in charge or somethin', and ain't nobody want that. What's going on?"

He struck a match, puffing the pipe to life as he examined his packmate.

Zoe's eyes flashed with anger.

"'What's going on?' Were you or were you not just a part of the same conversation I was, Get??"

Zoe flinched, shook her head, and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Rends. I'm just..." she growled. "He just gets me so worked up! Ever since that ridiculous 'duel' against Jack, I can hardly stand to even look at that beast. And to still call me urrah after all that I have done for this nation? And now O'Toole..."

A lightning bolt flashed across the sky, striking the nearby beach.

"He's gone too far..."

Rends took a couple of puffs on his pipe, flaring it to life before replying.

"I know what you mean. Every time I look at him I see my failure staring back at me. I get a sick feelin' in the pit of my stomach and I know if I hadn't dropped the ball Jack would still be here. But that ain't the case, and now we got Robert to deal with."

He blows out a billow of smoke through his nose.

"If it was anyone else in the Sept I'd say you should jest challenge him. Deep fry his ass and serve him up with a side a' horseraddish and let 'em see what an Urrah can do. That ain't an option here though."

He shakes his head, looking lost.

"I don't know what to say, Zoe. I doubt anything we do will change his mind of you. And now I'm afraid since we showed him the Storm Eater he'll be too focused on that threat and ignore the Leeches coming into his back yard."

Zoe shook her head.

"You can't blame yourself for this. The God's Nails were just as accessible to me, but I didn't steal them and murder Jack with them. Only Robert is to blame for what happened that day."

When Rends said taking out Robert was not an option Zoe stopped midstride, glowering at her former alpha.

"Why the hell not?! We're not in a time of war. He's not above being challenged. He doesn't fight fair, so neither would I. I'm so sick of running errands for that backstabbing idiot."

Rends snarled as he turned on Zoe.

"And you think I enjoy him parading me around like a whipped dog? You think I like watching him do his best to take the Get off the path of unification Jack had us on?"

The embers in his pipe flared up, giving a haunted cast to his shadowed face.

"I'd like nothing more than to have done with him. But as we saw back when we first came here, I ain't fit to lead this pack, let alone my Tribe. And the rest of the Get seem satisfied to go along with him fer the most part. Even if I made a challenge right now, who would support me?! I'm no better than Robert after that fight with the lynch mob, and if I can't be better than him I may as well let him lead!"

Zoe scoffed.

"Please! You are ten times the Garou Robert will ever be, and don't you ever think otherwise! Plenty of Garou, Get and non-Get alike, would support you over Robert any day. You really think these Iron Riders that he's bringing to town are going to get along with Robert's kill-first-ask-questions-later policy? If he thinks I'm too Weaver-friendly, what is a whole caern of Iron Riders in the middle of a mage-infested town going to do?"

Now it was Rends' turn to scoff.

"If Robert's bringin' em in ya, I reckon they'll go right in line with him. They'll be Iron Riders more in Ear Killer's vein than Red Oath's I can pretty well promise that, otherwise he wouldn't be bringin' em in."

He shakes his head ruefully, heaving a sigh.

"Look, it ain't jest about what the others want. It's about my own weakness. All this time I been sayin' Robert's been unfit to lead because he gave into his Rage and killed without cause. Well, what did I do in Galveston? Same damn thing. So who am I to say he ain't fit?"

Zoe shook her head in utter disbelief.

"You really think that you killing a creepy ass priest in self-defense is the same thing as Robert stealing a weapon and fighting a fight he knew he would win against his father? Robert did not give into his rage. He plotted and schemed and got what he had been wanting for a long time. That's not at all the same."

Zoe crossed her arms determinedly.

"Fine, if you're unfit to say he's unfit, I'll say it for you. He's unfit to lead the Get. Just because the Get recognize him as leader doesn't mean I have to. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. I likely won't be the one to shed his blood, but I am certain someone will in the near future."

Rends is silent for a long time, considering Zoe's words.

"Givin' in to Rage ain't jest about losing control in the moment. It's a lifestyle. It's dedicating everything you have to war and killin' and neglectin' everything else they is to life. I see it more and more in the eyes of the Get here, not jest Robert but it all comes down to the same shortsightedness as Mal. Everyone is so focused on the next big fight and gettin' they claws wet, but nobody gives two shits about what to do after! Jest move on to the next big fight, and fer what? So we can all die another day!"

He spits, then waves the pipe around as he speaks.

"I don't want that. I don't wanna lead that. Partially cuz I know they's more to why we fight, but more cuz I know that if I stay too close to that I'll get sucked right in too."

He turns to zoe, his eyes haunted.

"It's so easy to give in, Zoe. And it feels so damn good to jest let go and cut loose. I don't know if it's the same fer the rest of y'all. Maybe it's the Full Moon. Maybe it's somethin' from my Pa. Whatever it is, I miss it. I want it. But I will not let it own me!"

His words are a snarl by the end, and they hang in the air on the sudden tension. He lets them hang there for a moment before speaking again more softly.

"I don't know what the future holds. I still have reservations about Robert. But until I can get my own shit sorted out, I can't tear my tribe apart and drag them down with all this shit going on around us. But I promise you this: if we find anything that says Robert's been dealin' the Get wrong or breaking any of our laws after I done gave him this chance to prove himself..."

He speaks low and dangerous; the words only for her ears.

"I'll lead us back to Galveston, formally charge him, and bring him the justice of a true Fenrir."

For the first time in their conversation, realization fell upon the face of the Theurge. The burden her brother carried weighed on him more than she had known. When Rends finished speaking, Zoe silently pondered what he had shared.

"Rends, I had no idea what I was suggesting to you. The church's Bible even says that bad company corrupts good character. I would love to say that you would be able to change the Get for the better, and I believe that one day you could, but if you're struggling with your own rage and desire for blood and war, then you're right. Being around others who give into their rage without struggling against it would drag you into their midst undeniably."

She pursed her lips and dropped her eyes to the ground.

"We are not so different you and I, Rends-the-Gar. Though Robert's words about my allegiance to the Wyrm infuriate me, unlike most Garou, I don't immediately view all Weaver spirits as enemies. I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt in hopes of making allies of them."

Zoe sighed and crossed her arms.

"Though I don't remember O'Toole, I spent formative years in a household centered on the machinations of the Weaver. My opposition to killing O'Toole is not only because he raised me but because he has skills and strengths that we lack and could benefit from. Perhaps other will workers in this town are corrupt and would threaten the Garou nation, but O'Toole has been nothing but helpful to us."

A thought crossed Zoe's mind, and she considered keeping it to herself. Her eyes met Rends' and she searched them for understanding.

"I trust you, Rends-the-Gar, so I am going to tell you something that could brand me a traitor."

She paused a moment, considering the weight of her statement.

"If it comes down to a fight between the Get and the Will-Workers...I don't think I would side with the Get..."

The pronouncement hangs in the air. Rends takes a slow drag on the pipe, weighing the The urge with his eyes.

"Well. I guess we'll have to make sure it don't come to that then."

Rends shakes his head, shadows growing under his eyes.

"This city's a mess. Three weeks ago Robert wanted to make peace with the Will Workers. I wrecked that, but we'd made steps with the priest to patch it up before we left. And now Robert wants to risk war and scare 'em off. I wonder what changed?"

He shakes his head again.

"He framed it like this was some loyalty test fer you. But I reckon they's more going on here than that. I wonder if O'Toole done something to piss him off. Or maybe he's jest the only one who they got a location on. Either way, I ain't killing nobody till I know the situation. And believe me, if rather have O'Toole as an ally than a corpse."

Zoe laughed.

"If this is a test of loyalty, I just failed that test!"

She pursed her lips and nodded.

"I think you're right. Something doesn't add up with Robert all of a sudden seeing the local mages as a threat instead of potential allies."

The Iron Rider flipped the cover on her stopwatch open and shut nervously. In the penumbra, she saw the small Weaver spirit slumber within the device that O'Toole had given to her. She grabbed her rifle off her back and examined that penumbrally as well, noticing the power of the Weaver working within it as well.

She sighed, but then cocked her head to the side as a thought crossed her mind.

"What if we showed Robert that weapons built by mages could be tide-turning in the fight against the Wyrm? This rifle alone has crippled if not destroyed many vampires, and this stopwatch has been instrumental in weakening our opponents."

Rends shakes his head.

"I don't think that'll matter to him. Hell see any potential strength a Weaverling can lend as a crutch, or say we should only trust to our own strength in our war. He don't even trust the Iron Riders he's bringing in to keep their own totems under control."

He gives a humorless chuckle.

"Kinda funny, really. The Gods Nails was pretty damn Weaver influenced. They was made by Tames-the-Weaver for crying out loud! And he couldn't have gotten where he is without..."

He trails off, shaking his head.

"Anyways, I think we gotta find another solution. Maybe yer Papa will habe some wisdom for us. Whatever happens though, I don't want a war with the Mages. That's the last thing we need right now."

Zoe's lips parted in surprise and realization.

"You're absolutely right! It was a Weaver-infused fetish that got Robert to where he is today. He doesn't want anyone else wielding any sort of weapons against him, I bet! Especially not the creators of said weapons."

Zoe shook her head and sighed.

"You're also right in that a war with mages is the last thing the Garou need. They have been content to live in close proximity all this time. Just leave them be and focus on the bigger, more imminent threats like vampires and the Storm Eater. This sudden move to make an example of O'Toole is more than meets the eye."