What's to Come

When the Prodigals finish speaking with Claws of Silk, Mocks stays behind and the others leave. Zas runs off to chat with Mal and Eaton goes off to do his own thing.

"Rends, would you mind taking a walk with me? I wanna talk some things out and try to clear my head, but I'm afraid to do so alone, lest some offended Get see an opportunity to take their frustrations out on an unsuspecting urrah who tends to speak what's on her mind."

Rends seems distracted. He's been idly fingering the handle of his knife since the meeting with Roarin' Jack, and his straw hat is angled down to hide more of his face than normal. He shrugs, stuffing his meaty hands into his pockets.

"I guess. Th' others kin watch after theyselves long as they stay together. And I'd love an excuse to crack a head or two anyhow."

He walks with her for a few paces, eyes prowling around the cavern before resting on his packmate.

"What's on yer mind?"

Zoe is silent for a beat, clearly wading through a torrent of conflicting thoughts. When she speaks, she looks ahead into the dark instead of at her brother beside her.

"Back in Perdido...we did right, didn't we? I mean, how were we to know that the wolf spirit was bad and that the kinfolk were fixin' to be turned to skin rippers. We're not the kind of people to just roll into town and start killing sick people. That just ain't right, ya know? But now that idiot Warbreath is tryin' to get us punished for doin' the best we knew how!"

Zoe's breathing grows shallow and her fists clench in anger as she closes her eyes and whispers, "Luna, help me."

Rends is silent for a long time. When he replies, his voice is quiet. Almost a whisper.

"I don't know if I'm the one to talk to about this, Zoe. Truth be told, I thought we shoulda kilt the wolf spirit and the villagers from the git go."

He goes quiet again for a long minute, then he seems to have trouble putting his words together, unsure of himself.

"But... I don't know anymore. I seen a vision while we was in town. Somethin' from the Dream Knife. It showed me somethin'... somethin' I don't want to happen. But it happened cuz I was too focused on killin'. Then we discovered the wolf thang, and we couldn't figure one way or the other what it was. I thought... I thought maybe things was supposed to be different. Like maybe we ain't jest supposed to kill everything what's a little unnatural... so I didn't press it when we decided to let it go an' see what it does. I thought i was listenin' to Gaia... or somethin'."

Clearly uncomfortable, he rubs his hands together awkwardly.

"And now here we is, and it's all my fault. I shoulda kilt it when I had the chance. But... I don't know if I could've. It hain't hurt Mocks when it had the chance, so it woulda been murder..."

He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Listen to me. I dunnow what I's all about. And now gettin' torn a new one by my own Tribe first time I see 'em in months... like I said, I don't know I'm the one to get you clarity here, Zoe."

Zoe's eyes grow wide at Rends' admission, her face registering shock and a bit of confusion.

"But...but back there...in front of Jack and all them you defended me and Mocks and Zas and said we all did the right thing. Now you're not even sure?"

She starts to look slightly panicked. "It's not fair. I mean, maybe we did mess up. Maybe we should've killed those poor people when they were sick and defenseless. Maybe then Jack's son woulda lived. But is one mistake worth whatever hell Warbreath plans on raining down on us tomorrow? Shoot, Rends, we're still kids compared to most of these Garou. How are we to know the right thing to do when most of them ain't never seen skin rippers or their source either. It's just...it's not fair."

Rends shrugs.

"Yer my pack. I'm the Ahroun. It's my job to protect you, and I aims ta do it. Whose right and wrong don't come into it. We made the decision as a pack, and I'll stand by it to anyone who questions us, because they ain't us and we made the best decision we could at the time."

He goes quiet again for a time, then speaks again barely above a whisper.

"I was sure, before we got here. I thought Frostblood dug his own grave with that damn fool pitched battle. Gaia's truth is, if it weren't for yer fires goin' off, we'd all be dead. That I am sure of."

He spits to the side, away from Zoe.

"But seein' how the rest of my Tribe is... I dunnow. Makes me wonder if I'm really a Get. Maybe I's in the wrong Tribe. I wanna belong here. I want them to accept me. Truth is, I want to rampage across the Plains and tear the Wyrm a new hole like Jack says. But I feel in my gut that we cain't. We's spread too thin, we don't have the men to fight a full on war with whatever the Wyrm's got. So I think Malchizadeck's plan is better, but I don't like how he's all shadows and secrets. At least Roarin' Jack's honest. I'm a terrible Get."

At Rends final admission, Zoe's face turns to a scowl. "Don't say that. Just cuz you ain't the stereotypical rip-everyone-to-pieces Get doesn't mean you're a terrible one. What this tribe needs is a little forethought and planning. Like Jack said, our pack could provide them with cunning and insight that would complement their physical strength."

She places a hand on his shoulder. "A terrible Garou is one who is driven simply by his auspice and his tribe with no thoughts of his own. If Gaia had wanted machines to serve her, she'd be using mindless Weaver spirits, not free-willed men and women like us."

She points a condemning finger toward the Get area. "If those people in there emulate what being a Get is truly all about, then perhaps you're better off not being one of them, but I have a feeling there's more to them than the bloodlust and senseless killing."

Hears-the-Song laughs out loud for a good thirty seconds or more. She shakes her head and composes herself. "I'm sorry. It just struck me as funny that I am here defending the very people who call me a fallen witch."

She takes a deep breath, looks up into the night sky, and smiles. "Gaia saw us in Perdido. She knows our desire was to serve her with strength, honor, and wisdom. She will be with us tomorrow. If these elders are worth their salt, they will see that we did nothing deserving of punishment."

Rends seems to stand a bit taller, and gives Hears the Song a pat on the back in thanks.

"You're right. Jes cuz I don't think like them don't make me one of them. We was in the right then, and we's in the right now. I won't be made a liar; I stand by what I said and I'll fight to defend our actions any time."

He smiles, looking at his packmate.

"Ain't it funny? You come to me for comfort and you end up bein' the one givin' the help."

Zoe smiles. "Sometimes Gaia just works things out that way, ya know?"

She pauses and shakes her head slowly. "I'm still nervous about tomorrow. Even though we know we were in the right and we know what happened in Perdido, it's our word against Warbreath's. I wouldn't expect any of the Throat Tearers to come to our aid if Warbreath starts making up more lies about us."

Zoe turns and gives Rends a quizzical look. "When you first met me, did you think I was a Weaver-loving urrah like the rest of your tribe currently thinks? Do you still think I am? If not, what changed your mind?"

Rends chuckles a bit at Hears the Song's questions.

"Honestly, I didn't quite know what to make of ya. I thought you was a bit bossy, but I know now it's jest cuz you want what's best for everyone. I never even heard of no 'Urrah' before. I grew up pretty isolated from other Garou; they was only one other than my pa in our town. Pa was Get, but Mr. Henderson was a Child of Gaia. They only talked 'bout this stuff after I had my First, and Pa liked to keep his secrets close, so I didn't know much about Garou till I got to Galveston, then met up with y'all. But since then I learned a few things. And one of 'em's that if someone's willin' to fight the Wyrm and knows what she's doin' that's good enough for me."

Hears-the-Song smiles at his answer, nodding along as he tells her a bit of his past.

"I knew nothing of the Garou until I met Red and the Camino Real Sept in Nacogdoches. I lived on the streets for the first ten or so years of my life with some boys who 'helped' me survive. One night we broke into Papa O'Toole's house, but I got caught and they split. Long story short, O'Toole gave me a second chance and took me in as his own, teaching me how to create machines and get along as a 'normal' member of society."

Tilting her head to the side, Zoe appears to have realized something for the first time. "In retrospect, I think O'Toole might have been a mage, extremely brilliant but completely unaware of the Weaver spirits crawling all over his stuff. I saw the spirits occasionally, but I honestly just thought he had a bug problem."

She shrugs. "Anyway, I guess that's why the Get of Galveston thought I was too enamored with the Weaver. In my defense I knew nothing of Wyld or Gaia or anything else, seeing as how I had no Garou to teach me of them."

"Not that I have to defend myself to you, but I am not loyal to the Weaver. Weaver spirits are like any other machine. They have their purpose and will let nothing deter them from fulfilling it. If your purposes align, they will assist you, but as soon as they diverge, you better watch out. It's impossible to be loyal to Weaver and still think for yourself. I personally like making my own choices...even if they end up landing me in the middle of a Garou trial."