|
Post by Danny on Jan 10, 2008 20:49:29 GMT 1
It was the first Friday in March, a rather cold start for the new month. But the fire in the Library crackled, keeping the assembled warm as they sat around the large wooden table, surrounded by shelves of books. One can't really call the Garou that kept the Library a Sept, so I will not go as far as calling the meeting a moot, but it was probably the closest they had gotten to one in years.
Danny stood at the head of the table and waited for the others to settle down. "Judgment-from-the-Skies," he said. "Seat your pack on the right. Leave one chair empty. Saxon, you can join them." He let the newer Garou take the seats to his left. When he was sure everyone was listening, he spoke in the Mother's tongue.
"Welcome, brothers," he said, speaking mainly to the group on the left. "I am Walks-with-Death, Galliard of the Silent Striders, one of Owl's chosen children, and appointed keeper of the Library's Wisdom."
Most of them already knew who he was, but it was always good to start off with a good introduction. Besides, that would give everyone a chance to finally meet everyone else. "I will let Vasara introduce his pack," he said. "It would do good to learn each other's names and faces. After all, we are to fight together."
((Ok, everyone who is here, just consider this a roll call. Introduce yourself so I know you're still around.))
|
|
Tony Vasara
Fostern
Judgment from the Skies
Manche f?hren, manche folgen
Posts: 648
|
Post by Tony Vasara on Jan 11, 2008 0:07:20 GMT 1
Vasara took his place on the right side of the room, his still tired face on stern "no-bullshit"-look. He had a habit of fighting like an ahroun and being loud like Galliard at times, but in situations like these he was pure Philodox. He nodded to his Pack, telling them to follow him and giving Saxon a look, inviting him to follow too. He had proved his worth and earned respect from Vasara.
Vasara looked at the pack... they had seen better days. Better to get things moving he thought. "I am Tony "Judgment-from-the-Skies" Vasara, Fenrir halfmoon. I am Alpha of this Pack, and everyone here knows I am the loud and bossy one around." Vasara winked at Danny. It was weird how long it took for old habits to die as he had been one-eyed for years.
"Now I introduce to you Micah, Fianna halfmoon. One of the first members of our Pack, and maybe the best damn tracker I've ever seen. Unfortunately, his injuries has given us something to think about..." they had this conversation earlier this day, he, Micah and Danny "...and from this moment on, he will aid his father..." Vasara nodded at Danny " ...guarding this caern." The decision had been difficult, but necessary.
Vasara took a picture from his pocket. There was a smiling boy, sitting on the grass at the park. It had been almost a year since they took the photo, but it had been the only one Vasara had found. Sneaky kid... if we hadn't got that pizza with us, he probably would have dodged the camera again...
"This here is... was Kaleb "Street-Rat" Miescher, one of Bone Gnawers, a ragabash to bone. He was a fierce warrior with healthy appetite and a good friend for all of us who knew how to appreciate the small things in life. He is gone now, joined with his ancestors." Vasara put the picture on top of the fireplace, next to other ones who had given their lives in War. "He was our friend and we will howl for him tonight. Take care, buddy. We won't forget you."
That left him with this pretty, young girl. "Anna Walzcak, theurge. Remember when we saved you the first time? I do." Vasara smiled "I think time has come for you for your Rite of Passage, Anna. You are troubled one, but if you give yourself to Fenris, He will help you to help yourself. Fenris will offer you a hard road, but it will make you strong in mind as in body. Now it is time to take your first steps on that road." Vasara's tone on his last sentence had a slight hint of it being a question. She needed to make that final choice herself, it couldn't be forced on her.
There's the Pack. There was only he and Anna left. The Pack had been built for war, and they hadn't made it to this day without casualties.
He walked next to Saxon. "Mark "Saxon" Harding" Vasara said "Bonegnawer. Ahroun. The Pack could use both. I offer you a place in it." Saxon was one of those types Vasara liked to talk to. No empty words and "straight to the point"-attitude.
Why wait for better opportunity when this could be asked it right away?
|
|
Anna
Garou
Der Wahnsinn ist nur eine schmale Br?cke
Posts: 672
|
Post by Anna on Jan 11, 2008 11:33:08 GMT 1
Anna stared sadly while Vasara placed Kaleb's picture on the fireplace next to the others. She glanced at Micah, with his arm still in a sling. The pack had lost a lot in the battle, but Anna was beyond blaming herself for that. She would have done the same for any of them.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when Vasara spoke her name, and turned to look at him, taking a few seconds to let it sink in. She opened her mouth, but couldn't really express what she was feeling. For a year now, she had feared this decision. She knew her ancestry was questionable, and the Fenrir were a strong and proud tribe. None of it would matter if they adopted her now. The Spirals would no longer have any claim on her. She would be a Child of Fenris. She nodded to Vasara. "I will take this road," she said. "For Bear and Fenris, and I will not let you down." And although she didn't say it, there was gratitude in her voice.
|
|
|
Post by Danny on Jan 11, 2008 12:01:38 GMT 1
Danny watched Vasara introduce his pack and place Kaleb's picture on the fireplace. He smiled approvingly at Anna's answer and then turned to the ones seated on the left side of the table, giving them the floor for their own introductions, and for Saxon to accept (or decline) Vasara's offer.
|
|
Caitlin
Cliath
Cliath - absent
Posts: 104
|
Post by Caitlin on Jan 11, 2008 14:41:47 GMT 1
Caitlin ground her teeth a little and bit her tongue, she half expected after what she had seen in the past five days to see a couple of vampires, a mage, two demons and a gaggle of fomori to join them too.
After all she had known about the ghosts, oh she couldn’t see them but she had known they were there…the fianna was more than a little horrified, for she had seen what one wraith could do. The litany and the violation of caerns sprung very much to mind.
Still it was neither the time or the place to speak up on such subjects right now. She did wonder just how many dark secrets this place held. Her opinion on Anna…well if the elder and wiser fenrir considered it an option then she could not argue, and surely Fenris in his good judgment would not allow her to pass if she was unworthy, and if she was worthy then Caitlin knew it was not her place to judge . Thus on that matter she waited to see the outcome and all she hoped was that pride would not blind the older Fenrir.
Caitlin remembered her own right of passage had been hard for herself and the rest of the pack, she just hoped that Anna would get one worthy of a Fenrir, and not some token that she had seen more recently…
She considered waiting for Saxon to accept the place as manners would normally dictate as much but it appeared the ‘Alpha’ among them did not deem it as nessesary and thus she spoke.
The tall slender fianna stood then, her heritage was very apparent, from her form and the slight points to the tip of her ear that was not burned. Her scars were far more on show now, one could surmise that half her body was burned. Still for all that the woman stood proud.
“I am Caitlin McNeil a Fianna Ragabash of the Tuatha de Danann, born of a long and glorious line, I carry with me my ancestors and their blood, and I carry it with honour.” She paused and took a breath, “I come to you after a time of healing, I come to you because my family understand much and see much and they know well the will of the mother as well as the will of dreams. Thus I stand before you and offer my body my spirit and my mind. I offer my claws and my wit, I offer my laughter, my wisdom and my cunning if it pleases you. ”
She inclined her head to both Danny and to Vasara most politely. For all her loud mouth and bravado, at formal events such as these Caitlin indeed knew how to behave. After that the fianna flourished a bow and did not sit again until she was give the appropriate nod.
|
|
|
Post by Middle Born on Jan 11, 2008 14:43:27 GMT 1
Middle Born watched on with interest, she understood that each sept or Caern worked in a different way and thus she must understand this one if she was to stay. They appeared less formal to where she had come from, but as a philodox the Shadow Lord had decided different did not always mean wrong.
She was not in her breedform, a beautiful black wolf with a luxuriant coat which hid some of the fine scars from the scalpels that had been use on her during some of the experiments. No she had taken her human skin even if it did not sit well with her. She was as fine and attractive in this form as she was in that of the wolf.
The Shadow Lord had felt the presence of the crow since she had been here and took it as a sign that she must stay.
When it felt appropriate Middle born stood and then spoke, it was somewhat hard for her and thus walked from the table and shifted to her breed form. I am Middle Born, Philodox of the Shadow Lords. I have been for many moons in a cage but through the will of the Mother and Grandfather Thunder I am free. Much as I would love to run again in the forest I know that it was their hand that guided me here. So I ask I help you in your fight.
|
|
Yvonne
Cliath
Elpis' Ardour
Posts: 528
|
Post by Yvonne on Jan 11, 2008 15:06:20 GMT 1
Yvonne moves to the seats to the left and stands facing the others. With the few days to recover from the 'exciting' weekend Yvonne was clean and neatly-dressed, looking like a thoroughly inoffensive teenage girl for the first time for everyone but Danny. "Hello everyone, I'm Yvonne. I am an Ahroun of the Black Furies and I've been recently sent here to help with the troubles. It's nice to meet you all under less stressful circumstances." She smiles and takes a seat.
|
|
Kamut
Cliath
Shadow-Stalker
Posts: 365
|
Post by Kamut on Jan 11, 2008 15:54:25 GMT 1
Kamut, in his human skin for the sake of communication, stood to one side. "I am Shadow-Stalker, Ragabash Metis of the Shadow Lords. I come to Berlin to provide whatever service I am able in the protection of this Caern." He doesn't meet many of those present with his eyes, not wanting to suggest he had any authority with such a simple challenge that both humans and wolves responded to. He hesitates as he appraises the seating, but momentarily finds a seat to the left of Danny but not directly beside anyone else.
|
|
Kasiya
Cliath
Treads the Darkest Path
Woof.
Posts: 598
|
Post by Kasiya on Jan 11, 2008 17:55:20 GMT 1
Kasiya cares not for ease of communication, he could say all he needed to as a Wolf. Were they not all Garou here? Most comfortable in his breed form he sits as a midnight black Wolf, slight and unassuming in form but surrounded by an intangible aura of Power and Death, the same aura that surrounded the skulls which have since been cleansed and removed from the Caern. As such, he sits alone, with considerable space to move, which is how he likes it. Is he not a Theurge, and deserving of respect?
"I am Kasiya, Treads-the-Darkest-Path, Theurge of the Silent striders."
And that is all they need to know. His greatest deeds and good intentions must as always go unheard, lest they be comprehended and made worthless. It is a lonely road but at least one other here must understand it even if Adiyah was more nurturer than Mystic (as far as he had surmised).
|
|
Nadezhda
Cliath
Shodim s uma.
Posts: 356
|
Post by Nadezhda on Jan 11, 2008 18:50:30 GMT 1
Nadezhda is a little late of course, she enters shiftily and looks around suspisciously at everyone. She is marginally less shifty at the sight of Danny, the only face she knows here, but she still stops just inside the door where she can see everyone. After a few moments she lights up a cigarette unconsciously, not taking any attention off of the others for a second.
|
|
|
Post by Saxon on Jan 11, 2008 22:19:10 GMT 1
Saxon smiled and nodded, "Thank you for the honour, I accept." He grinned, "I have your back." Which in his way of thinking was one of the biggest compliments he could give some one, that he trusted them to stand beside him in a fight. He added quietly, "Kaleb stood his ground."
Then of course motor mouth had to start up, " Gaia woman, Danny said say who you where, not give a speech." He shook his head and said to Vasara, "Don’t get to talking with her, you start to lose the will to live as she drones on and on."
The others he merely gave a nod too, he had not seen them in combat yet and so he reserved his thoughts on them for now.
|
|
|
Post by Danny on Jan 12, 2008 0:10:03 GMT 1
Danny silently let everyone introduce themselves before he looked at Nadezhda, who had just walked in. He tried not to smirk at Saxon's words. After all, this was a serious affair. "Good to see you decided to turn up," he said to the newcomer. "Please take a seat."
He waited for her to sit down before addressing the group once again. "Whether you are here by choice or by chance, you have decided to stay and fight, and for that the city is grateful, Owl and Bear are grateful. And I am grateful. Berlin is not without its problems. We now hold the last Gaian Caern in Berlin. We are protected in no small part by the Wall that divides the city, by the strength of Bear and the wisdom of Owl, and by the claws, teeth and blood of the pack that sits to my right.
"But we are far from safe. The Wyrm's presence is strong, even on this side of the wall. Only last week they took one of ours. You have fought them," he now looked at Yvonne and Kasiya. "You have seen what they are ready to do. They will not rest until we have fallen, and Berlin is once again theirs. They are pushing for the wall to fall, and we must be ready for them."
"But they are not Berlin's only enemies," he said. "There is a human threat this side of the wall. Whether or not they are aware of their service to the Wyrm, I cannot tell. But they too are building an army. They have taken one of our kin. He disappeared around the same time Anna and Simeon did. I don't know if they are the same crew that held Martin and Middle Born, but both of them need to be stomped out. And Jan needs to be found, if he is still alive." He paused. They had made the decision not so long ago to go in search of Anna instead of Jan. Garou over kin. A decision that might have cost the young man his life. If they had had the resources that they have now... He pushed the idea out of his head and continued. "As you see, there is a lot of work to be done," he said. "Questions?"
|
|
Kasiya
Cliath
Treads the Darkest Path
Woof.
Posts: 598
|
Post by Kasiya on Jan 12, 2008 9:21:23 GMT 1
Kasiya barks a response, no question but far more useful.
"I can find your Kin."
His brevity is no doubt a welcome counterpoint to the flowery speeches of some of those present. Inwardly he groans at his own volunteering but he doubts anyone else here has the skills.
|
|
Caitlin
Cliath
Cliath - absent
Posts: 104
|
Post by Caitlin on Jan 12, 2008 9:46:57 GMT 1
Caitlin winked at Saxon and gave him a grin, but her face grew a little more serious as Danny spoke, she listened carefully to the problems in the City, she was no stranger to slim odds, hell thus far she had survived.
“I have questions yes…” Saxon got another smile, she was a motor mouth but she had always been told, there are no stupid questions…ever.
“I see how strong the Garou are in the City for we sit here, but what of our kin, are they prevalent, and also our enemies kin. I am assuming they pass more freely than the Spirals into the west. I know they can make strong spies for enemies for they often pass beneath our radar how ever vigilant we are.”
“We have a possibility of three rather than two enemies then or at least ones that are known about yes? What of the veil, we can only assume that anything they know of us is a breach and must be dealt with.”
She paused knowing that her taking the floor was possibly not popular but in her mind it was necessary so she could aid better, for the more information she gathered the more she knew the easier the task could be.
“Also, you speak of enemies, what of our allies? Or are we devoid of those save for the guiding hands and supposrt of the spirits?Hmmmm," something struck her. " There is the old saying, the enemy of my enemy and all that, not that I am suggesting we get snuggly with either or any of them, but is there anyway we can have them fight each other..." Not that she was a coward, she had the scars to proove that. But it might help them a little even the odds out a little more. "After all can a war can be fought on many fronts?"
|
|
|
Post by Middle Born on Jan 12, 2008 10:32:38 GMT 1
Middle Born listened she was quiet and thoughtful on many of the matters that were spoken of. Though she had been incarcerated she knew very little about the facility, however she had learned names just from listening for there was little else for her to do.
She was a little confused at the other wolf though, he was a loner, of course she had heard of Cinderella wolves who were chased from the pack, but she could not see that. Did he really want to work alone, that appeared a very alien concept to her?
Her German left a lot to be desired but she did not want to shift again to speak, first she turned to Danny and inclined her head politely, then she looked to the wolf as dark as herself.
“You want work on own?” Her head tilted to one side in a questioning manner. “Or you want help?”
Her attentions were turned then to the others “I try to remember names I hear in …the cage. Will that help find more?”
|
|