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Post by Danny on Jul 16, 2009 22:48:11 GMT 1
"You will wash away your old self with water bathed in the moon's light," Danny said.
At Micah and Yvonne's arrival, he turned to face them and nodded at Micah. "Yes," he responded in German. "I need you both to bear witness. This is Tristain, once cub of the Spirals, now Ronin. After today, that life will end."
He picked up the branch he had laid aside under the tree. "Sit down," he said to all of them.
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Tristain
Cub
"Monsters are as Monsters do. Am I a Monster?"
Posts: 170
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Post by Tristain on Jul 17, 2009 6:52:42 GMT 1
Tristain looks very nervously at Yvonne and the newcomer. At Danny's direction, he moves over to sit where he would likely be facing the two of them.
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Post by Danny on Jul 17, 2009 11:22:49 GMT 1
"There's a spring not far from here," Danny said to Micah. He handed him the branch he had picked from the Ash tree and handed it to him. "I need water.""
He took the matches from Yvonne and walked over to the fire he had built and lit it. The calm way they were sitting, with the fire burning nearby and the tension in the air gone, they could have almost passed for hikers or campers.
While the fire burned, Danny picked up a stick and drew a circle around Tristain, and when Micah returned with the wet branch, and both he and Yvonne had sat down, Danny began. "The time has come for you to admit your crimes," he said. "And be cleansed of the taint. Eplis' Ardour, Ahroun Cliath of the Black Furies and Silent-Hunter, Philodox Fostern of the Fianna will bear witness, and join the rite of cleansing."
He stood and waited. Now it was Tristain's turn to speak.
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Tristain
Cub
"Monsters are as Monsters do. Am I a Monster?"
Posts: 170
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Post by Tristain on Jul 17, 2009 17:48:03 GMT 1
((This is going to get long, but to avoid a long session of posting, I'll assume that people pulling my head off can wait until the end.))
Tristain glances around the group nervously, withdrawing his knife again as he does so, holding it stationary in his hand. He holds it for a moment, looking now at the floor between Micah and Yvonne. It takes him a good minute to find his voice, but he does eventually, speaking quite quietly but audibly.
"My crimes... Just over a year ago, I went through my First Change. I killed two foreigners. I think Americans. Tore them apart. When the cops started nosing around the foster home, Jess, Thrice Opened Eye got me away from them, and introduced me to Jonas, Unyielding Might, her alpha and the other half of the Guiding Star pack. I spent about two months with them before I ran, and I committed a heap of crimes under their..." he casts around for the right word, "supervision."
"I have broken into, stolen information from and burned down two Greenpeace offices and helped kick off a riot at a Greenpeace protest in Hamburg. I've also broken into many homes and businesses to steal vlauables which were burned in sacrifice to their totem, Relshab."
"Three times I've done service to... Wyrm-spirits. The first was some sickly green fire-thing that..." he stops a moment to line up his thoughts. He's been asked for his crimes, not the backstory, "... got me to burn alive someone's pet dog." He shakes his head slightly. Compared to what was going to follow, that episode was pathetic. But he'd been told not to leave anything out. "The next was some skeletal rat that wanted me to destroy a doctor's surgery. I torched the place. Two people were still inside. They survived, but were badly burned." The knife in his hand flicks open a fraction and back as he moves onto his last and most horrible Chimanage. "The last was a ball of... anger that wanted to ride me. It took me to some family's home and took control there. It... we? killed everyone inside. Three women, one man and two children." He swallows hard, trying to re-bury the memory of that night so he can carry on. The knife flicks out and round as he struggles to regain his composure.
"I've raped..." He trails off again, needing some time to force himself to think through all that he'd done, all the nameless victims Jess or Jonas had placed in front of him. "five women and girls. Not children girls, my age," he adds quickly. Then shakes his head. As if that makes much difference. The knife starts slowly spinning now, and continues as he speaks again. "I've killed fifteen people, including the family I mentioned already. Five more were presented to me as 'deserving', early in the time I was with them. two more were six of the women I'd raped, and the others were various men. I don't really know much about them." The knife is spinning more quickly now, having accelerated as he spoke. It stops very suddenly as he fails to get his hand out of the way, and cuts deeply into his fingers. Given the practiced skill he's been displaying with it and the lack of reaction to the pain, the motion could well have been deliberate. "I've tortured four people, men and women. I've also watched while they did all this and worse. Showed me how to do things and I didn't try to stop it." The knife has remained held half-open in his now bloodstained hand through this last. As he finishes he takes a deep, shuddering breath, tears running down his face. The silence drags on a bit, and it's clear he's stopped.
((Blowing a Willpower to get through all of that, 'cause it's the only way I can see it happening.))
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Yvonne
Cliath
Elpis' Ardour
Posts: 528
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Post by Yvonne on Jul 17, 2009 17:55:12 GMT 1
Yvonne is fighting a growl before Tristain is even halfway through, and when he falls silent and has the nerve to cry over it her patience snaps. She couldn't decide which of the crimes sickened her the most. "Vasara was right, he should die! Even for half of that his life should be forfeit!" She regrets every chance she's given Tristain, from the moment she let him into her home.
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Micah
Fostern
Silent Hunter
Posts: 58
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Post by Micah on Jul 17, 2009 18:50:34 GMT 1
"Those are serious crimes," Micah said, looking at Yvonne and understanding her anger, although he remained calm. "He speaks of them truthfully, and with regret, but there is no coming back from such a place. His only release is death."
He looked at Tristain. "I am sorry. I can see you are truly repentant. I don't doubt that."
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Post by Danny on Jul 17, 2009 19:19:43 GMT 1
"Worse than him have atoned," Danny insisted. "They become the most loyal of Garou, and they repay their debt to Gaia, and more. I do not doubt that it will be a difficult journey. But I know that he will not be one to take the easy way out."
He turned to Yvonne. "So it should be," he said. "It is more difficult to show mercy to our enemies than it is to kill them. He does not deserve a second chance, but I ask you to afford him one just the same. I appeal not to justice, but to compassion, to forgiveness, and to greatness of spirit. Because this is what makes us human, this is what keeps us connected to our conscience."
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Tristain
Cub
"Monsters are as Monsters do. Am I a Monster?"
Posts: 170
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Post by Tristain on Jul 17, 2009 19:50:14 GMT 1
Tristain doesn't react as Yvonne and Micah pronounce their judgements, or even as Danny speaks. He simply sits, head bowed, trying not to think on the crimes he's just described and failing utterly.
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Yvonne
Cliath
Elpis' Ardour
Posts: 528
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Post by Yvonne on Jul 17, 2009 20:36:42 GMT 1
"You're defending a cruel rapist, torturer and murderer?!" Yvonne can't restrain the growl any longer, every word is twisted by anger and all signs of the gentle, friendly tone she normally uses dissapear. "And you ask me to forgive these things? He would not be the first to sincerely apologise for his crimes only to commit them again." She pauses and forces herself to take a breath, then continues. "I can forgive accidental crimes, I can forgive crimes of passion, but there is no way that he could of done these deeds with anything but the intent to cause pain and suffering. You can choose to let him live, that is your right. But forgiveness is too much to ask of me, or anyone. I find it hard to believe my mother tolerated you." Yvonne grits her teeth, holding back more words that would be spoken in anger.
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Tristain
Cub
"Monsters are as Monsters do. Am I a Monster?"
Posts: 170
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Post by Tristain on Jul 17, 2009 20:42:20 GMT 1
Tristain looks up at Yvonne's words. He doesn't want to see Danny loose any more friends and allies on his behalf, so he speaks, still quietly, eyes still filled with tears.
"Then don't forgive me. I can't ask you to do what I can't. Just give me a chance to make up some of the harm I've done. I swear I will die before I go down that path again."
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Micah
Fostern
Silent Hunter
Posts: 58
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Post by Micah on Jul 17, 2009 20:44:19 GMT 1
"You always say, to be Garou means to be best of both worlds," Micah said. "But I think not even humans would turn a blind eye to all he has done. But you are my elder, my teacher, and in many ways, my father. I accept your wisdom. And if this is your judgment, then I will not go against it."
He struggled with the words, mispronouncing many of them, but still the message was clear. "If this is your decision, I will stand by it."
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Post by Danny on Jul 17, 2009 21:09:37 GMT 1
"I did not defend what he has done," Danny said. "I am not speaking of what he deserves. But I will not see the Sept divided over this. I ask you understand why I have chosen to give him a chance. If not for him, then for what he has done for Anna. One selfless act does not redeem him, but it shows that there is something there worth redeeming."
Maybe it was too much to ask after all.
"Your mother might not have spared him, but she would have understood why I need to. And there is no doubt that if he fails, I will hunt him down myself."
That was all he needed to say. Well, it was all he could say at least. He walked to the fire and picked up one of the smouldering branches. With the burning stick in one hand, and the wet branch in the other, he returned to circle.
"Stand up," he asked Tristain, and when he had done so, Danny began to walk around the circle he had inscribed in the dirt, sprinkling Tristain with the water on the branch. Micah, who had seen this act performed before and knew what was expected of him, shifted to his wolf form and let out an eerie low howl. The agonising pain that Anna had warned him of did not come. The whole thing took barely five minutes, and by the end of it, Danny was standing back where he started. Tristain didn't feel any different, but Danny said: "It is done." And looked at Yvonne for confirmation.
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Kasiya
Cliath
Treads the Darkest Path
Woof.
Posts: 598
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Post by Kasiya on Jul 17, 2009 22:01:24 GMT 1
Angry voices Carry far in the Caern, and the Ash grove was a favourite haunt for Kasiya.
He arrives in the midst of Danny's Rite. Maybe noticed, maybe not. A quiet black wolf in shade. Laying down on his belly he lays his head on his forepaws and watches. It was too late for him to assist with the Rite of Cleansing.
Gleaning only the barest of facts from what he hears, Kasiya takes the time to try and sense the Wyrm's touch on Tristain. After all, he'd not had the ability for long and had no idea what the difference would be in the middle of the Rite. Once it is done, he Sniffs again, a second opinion to one whose human-born nose he wouldn't trust.
((Silence, Sense Wyrm))
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Yvonne
Cliath
Elpis' Ardour
Posts: 528
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Post by Yvonne on Jul 17, 2009 23:47:43 GMT 1
Yvonne had barely restrained her tongue, Tristain's tears and pleading had done little to make her reconsider, but she had said nothing more to Danny.
Still new to rites, but determined to learn, Yvonne followed Danny's guidance through the cleansing and played what little part she could. She howled with Micah, not offering the most skilful performance but her purity gave her voice greater strength like in all things. The anger she still felt gave her howl an unusually fiersome edge.
When it's all done she returns to her natural form and watches Danny. She's not as infuriated as before, but is hardly the centre of calm either. "How do you suggest he atones?"
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Tristain
Cub
"Monsters are as Monsters do. Am I a Monster?"
Posts: 170
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Post by Tristain on Jul 18, 2009 6:29:18 GMT 1
Tristain remains standing in the centre of the group, unsure what he should be doing next. He looks around the faces again.
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