After the Revel, small groups of Garou came traipsing back, each telling the stories of their hunt and trying to one-up the others in their tales of greatness. Zoe laughs to herself as she hears the tales grow wilder and more unbelievable with each telling.
Claws of Silk kneels beside the pool at the heart of the caern. Zoe decides to join her and refresh herself spiritually. The elder smiles in acknowledgement of the young theurge before continuing her quiet meditations. Zoe sits beside the pool and begins deeply breathing in and out as she aligns herself with the spiritual energy around her.
When she completes her meditation, Zoe notices that one of the Children of Gaia has set out breakfast for her. She eats the small meal alone then returns to the Children's area of the caern to return their dish and seek out their alpha.
Zoe walks down one tunnel and then another in search of Claws of Silk.
"I sensed you looking for me, Hears-the-Song."
Zoe turns around to see the sept alpha standing in the hall behind her as if the young Iron Rider had walked past her and completely missed her. Realization strikes her and she laughs softly.
"And here I thought only Mal's Sicarii played hide and seek in the Umbra."
Claws smiles brightly and turns back down the hall. "Come now, young one, let us speak in private.
When they arrive, Zoe sits on a large cushion on the floor of Claws of Silk's quarters. The sept alpha places herself on an even larger one across from her.
"You wish to tell me your tales of greatness, Zoe Kostas?"
Zoe nods. "If you will hear me, ma'am."
The sept alpha's face grows serious but not unfriendly. "Proceed."
"I have known of my place as one of Gaia's warriors for the better part of a year now. Thanks to her guidance I found myself acquainted with members of my father's tribe, the Iron Riders, in Nacogdoches. My rite of passage included both assisting a Weaver spirit and fleeing a horde of some of the same. I of course was also introduced to my first bane as my teeth and claws felt their first taste of Wyrm. I was also introduced to the Onesong at this time, which is how I earned my name."
"A few weeks later, after training with members of the Camino Real sept, including two of your own, Peace-in-Strength and Rita, and the late Lune Stalker, the members of my pack steadily rolled into town from a variety of tribes and hometowns. We later deduced that Coyote had summoned each one of us."
"In the past few months, my job as theurge of the Prodigals has been quite challenging but also very rewarding. I have never failed to bring my pack safely into and out of the umbra. I have summoned a variety of spirits to assist us in our quests and always manage to maintain good relations with the ethereal servants of Gaia."
"I often use my gifts to heal others, though sometimes my low spiritual reserves require me to make difficult choices concerning who to heal. One such scenario required me to choose between Penelope's brother and two cousins who had each been possessed by a bane. I was able to only heal one, but we restrained the others until they could be brought back to Lune Stalker for cleansing."
Zoe sighs, debating whether or not to bring up the Perdido kinfolk. She decides that the sept alpha deserves the whole story.
"In Perdido, I was once again faced with an nigh impossible decision concerning which of the infected kinfolk I should attempt to heal of their sickness. Unfortunately, even the one I managed to heal still turned into a bloodthirsty Skin Ripper and had to be put down at the hands of our pack."
Another pause as she recalls their time in Perdido.
"My pack looks to me for guidance concerning the spirits and I constantly seek more wisdom from Gaia and others who have served her longer than I have. But the path is not always clear and judgment calls must be made. I believe we made the right call concerning the spiritual nature of Penelope. I also believe I made the best call possible with the information readily available to us concerning the wolf spirit in Perdido."
Zoe lifts her chin and speaks more confidently as she continues.
"I have always fought bravely in every encounter with Wyrm foes. Sometimes I choose to use my fetish weapons before my teeth or claws, but I will not stop fighting until the foe has fallen. Even just this night, I threw myself down the throat of a horrific monster for the sake of rescuing two members of the very pack who wished to see us punished for our actions. I used my teeth, claws, weapon, and cunning to defeat the foe in a manner I believe made Gaia proud."
Zoe returns her gaze to Claws of Silk, her face strong and determined.
"Do you have any questions for me?"
Home 
