a meeting

It was hard not to feel the tension in the cool wet air as the large man set foot onto the sept grounds and howled his greeting. Shiva Light-of-Ra, Philodox of the Silent Striders. The returning call was swift, but did not sound like a Garou, nor did it sound particularly eager to hear him here. He was welcomed to the Howling Island Caern by what sounded like a bear. But the spirits were hard-pressed to lie under all the correct conditions, this must be the place he was asked to go.

He was led within by a pair of twins that radiated Fianna down to the accents, that glanced sideways at him with clear mistrust. He was used to the glances of superstitious Garou who levied judgment on his cursed blood before he even spoke, but this was far more than that. These were the looks of people who made it clear by body language that he was not wanted, but were expected to play host. He didn’t dare say a word, because any word might mean he had overstayed his welcome.

He was lead through a small village of cottages separated by a small river but held together by a bridge. The two gingers brought him through the crowd of clearly already-alerted werewolves and their kin. Every single one of them gave him that same look. He wasn’t sure what he had done, but he knew he wasn’t welcome.

The entrance to the caern’s heart was a small, secluded cave, hidden from above by the tree cover surrounding it. Etched into the trees, he saw wooden carvings depicting the tales of ancient legends and of animal and man alike. He was left alone here, to enter the caern he was summoned to. Follow the string of Christmas lights and continue deeper in. There, the contact that had sent a follower of Falcon to summon him waited. He took the form of a massive black jackal, and descended into the cave.

Far beyond where the lights ended, Shiva could feel the barrier between flesh and spirit fade around him. Rays of sunlight through a hole in the ceiling above their heads marked the heart of the caern, where a tree older than any other in the woods around them rose from the deep into the sky above. The floor of the cavern was lush with plants and the walls were soft with moss.

Waiting for him here were three people.

To the left, an older woman that anyone would be forgiven for mistaking for their own grandmother were it not for the tribal tattoos and the aura she carried about her. Rather than being stared down by an elder, Shiva felt as if he was lost in the woods, facing down a bear much larger than him. Beneath the loose wifebeater, faint scars were visible. She, through her half-moon glasses, gave him the same look as the rest of the sept.

However, she also gave glares of unease to the Garou on the right. This one, a man, stood there in his Crinos form, dark brown eyes staring down the visitor as if he wished not to acknowledge the woman’s glaring. Bright silver fur was marked by patterns along his body – elegant Latin above vivid depictions of great Garou legends marked his arms and torso, as if he were a living, breathing page out of the Silver Record.

The two of them stood in front of the third person, who seemed to be hiding themselves from view against the tree at the heart of the caern.

“You are Light-of-Ra?” the man on the right spoke.

“Yes, sir...”

“I am Talons-of-Falcon, Claws-of-the-Eclipse, Mantle-of-Helios, Rolling Thunder. Philodox, Silver Fangs. I am the one who sent for you.”

“Of course, sir...”

“You must forgive the contentious nature of Howling Island. They are recently off of a most unwelcome attempted coup upon the territory surrounding the city of St. Louis by the both of our tribes.”

“That… that would explain it. I thought I heard something, but I didn’t think to stop for details… That’s disappointing. My people are already faced with judgment where they might go...” Now Shiva avoided the gaze of the older woman. That did explain it, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t awkward.

“I understand. Now surely you must, in your vast travels, have heard the whispers as of late. The ruminations that Brass Dragon has risen from a sleep an Impergium’s age old, taken a brood of her own. Surely you’ve seen it. Ronin, exiled by their own will or by the will of their former septs, speaking with spirits as though they have accepted Gaia’s duty once more.”

“Hard not to notice… they say a new tribe has risen.”

“They call themselves the Wings of Brass.”

“What does this have to do with me..? Why was I called here, to a sept that’s already made clear that it doesn’t want me near it?”

“I was sent by none other than the King of the Silver Fangs to investigate these rumors. Having seen for myself, I say with certainty that the whispers are true. A new tribe has risen, and here, beneath the heart of the caern, sits its founder. Here sits the chosen of Brass Dragon, who emanates a power as if she has been touched by Gaia, and radiates to my senses with a coolness and somberness I have never felt. She is pure and noble, even despite her… condition.”

Shiva could barely see the figure behind them flinch, and frowned. “I still don’t know why I’ve been called here...”

“Faced with such a momentous event, I found myself curious. She claimed herself of the Glass Walkers, but informed me after much hesitation that she had not been born a child of Cockroach and knew not from which tribe she held blood. She allowed me to perform the Rite of Heritage upon her, and so the spirits whispered to me the name of the Garou who sired her.”

“Wh-”

“Thirty seven years ago, so the ancestors of all Garou tell me, you were intimate with a woman. Unbeknownst to you, due to your nature, you sired two children that night. One kin, one Garou.”

“I- what?!” Shiva felt his heart nearly stop. For nearly forty years, he and his idiot of a packmate had been running around both the world and the Umbra, and he never once knew anything had come of a chance one-night stand, let alone two children.

“That Garou sits behind us, the mother of a fledgeling tribe, having never known her father, or even if he was alive. Light-of-Ra, please, meet Ears-of-Bat. Your daughter.” Finally, Talons-of-Falcon stood aside, while the older woman went to the side of the one they had been hiding.

The one that sat there, staring him down, could almost not be called a wolf. Surely, if she had carried any hallmarks of his tribe, she would have known the blood she carried long ago. As it was, the only similarity she held was the distinctive shape of an African animal. While he resembled an Egyptian jackal, as many Silent Striders did, this girl was a strange, strange creature indeed, wearing the skin of the bat-eared fox. She could almost be called Fera, were it not for the claws and fangs and the wildness in her eyes telling of her nature. Her body was marked with scars that somehow looked more brutal than the wounds other Garou sustained, though in this moment Shiva wondered if that was only because he had just learned this creature was his daughter.

He caught her eyes through the voluminous mane that obscured her face beyond her muzzle. They were  odd eyes, indeed. They appeared blue in the low light of the cavern, but took on a violet sheen when the sun hit them that could only be described as electric. And they were wide, and wild, and full of dread as she seemed to realize the situation.

She trembled visibly as he approached, curling into the older woman as a source of comfort. He kneeled down to her, and reached out to touch her shoulder, but quickly recoiled as she pulled sharply away. This was clearly a woman who the world had not treated kindly. Her breathing was ragged and he could smell the fear in the air.

But fear wasn’t the only thing.

Though she looked healthy and un-wounded, he smelled the faint tinge of blood on her breath when he drew close. He knew that smell from many dealings with minions of Sutekh. It was the scent of a person held thrall by the blood of a vampire. Immediately, his heart sunk. He didn’t hold anything against vampires outside of his hate for the brood of Sutekh, but he still hated to think that someone that turned out to be his child could be held thrall.

“I… that’s blood on your breath… what happened to you?”

There was a tense, pregnant pause.

That dread in her eyes quickly turned to anger. To hate that could rival the dripping loathing he had only ever seen from a Dancer. He saw already tense, coiled muscles draw back for a strike, and didn’t have the time to move away before she lunged forward, sending him tumbling backwards in one blow. When he realized what had happened, he reached up to his chest and felt moist heat.

Somehow, it stung deeper than any other wound he had ever sustained.

The girl sprung to her feet, only barely being held back by the older woman. The Silver Fang that had assembled them seemed as startled at this development as anybody else, and also made a move to restrain her.

“How dare you.” She snarled, staring down at him with her wild eyes. Though he saw a frenzy barely restrained behind them, her voice was cold. “How dare you come to me after abandoning us and ask me what happened to me. How dare you think you can touch me after you left us for dead.”

“I didn’t-”

“Didn’t what. Didn’t know we existed? Didn’t think to check in on the depressed woman you decided to bed at a bar one night? Didn’t think you made a mistake? Is that all we are? A mistake? A wad of nut that should have been caught in a condom and disposed of?”

“What no-”

“Yeah, I bet. Now that you know we exist you’re going to pretend like we weren’t a mistake. If we weren’t, maybe you would have stopped in to say hello. If we weren’t mistakes, maybe I would have been able to know what I was all along! If we weren’t mistakes you would have been there for us!! Where were you when I was a kid wondering why Mom always seemed so sad? Where were you when my anxiety got so bad that some hack fraud drugged me into catatonia? Where were you during my first change?!”

It became harder and harder for Shiva to find his voice as hers began to raise from cold hate into a hot, angry fury. “I didn’t know--”

“Where were you when I was lost and confused and I thought I was the only werewolf on the planet? Where were you when I got found by that pack? Where were you when I watched all the other kids get elaborate rites of passage crafted by their parents and all I got was a script kiddie hacking puzzle because the pack that found me had no idea what to do with a cub? Where were you when vampires were stalking my sister?! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN ANYA WAS EMBRACED?!!”

Now he could see that frenzy fighting to break through to the surface. On her words, on being informed that whatever sister he had made her was taken and turned, he could feel his heart break. Now more than ever, he understood that he had failed these children.

“WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOUR TRIBE TRIED TO KILL HER?! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN WE GOT RUN OUT OF A CITY?!”

He had lost his words now, and all he could do was let her scream.

“WHERE WERE YOU WHEN SHE WAS KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED?!! WHERE WERE YOU?! TELL ME!! TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK YOU WERE YOU WORTHLESS CUNT CHUNK!! DO IT!!”

“I was… I… was… travelling...”

“AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN THINK TO CHECK IN WITH THE WOMAN YOU SLAMMED? NOT EVEN A PHONE CALL?!”

“N-no...” He braced for impact, curling away and closing his eyes tight.

“YOUR FAULT! IT’S YOUR FUCKING CURSE THAT’S WHY I CAN’T EVER STAY ANYWHERE!! YOUR FAULT THAT ANYA GOT TORTURED!!! YOUR FAULT!!”

Her accusatory screams soon devolved into primal growls and snarls and howls. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the massive shadow of a Gurahl in full form take her down and drag her off, leaving him with the Silver Fang that had summoned him here in the first place.

“… Light-of-Ra… I’m sorry. I never would have thought-”

”It’s fine. I guess I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll go back to the hotel and my buddy and I will be gone by tomorrow.” He rolled back up to his feet and rubbed at his bloodied chest again. Her claws had cut deeper than just her chest. All those wounds were like taking knives to his very soul.

He knew she was right.

He knew that he was worthless for abandoning them.

And he knew that she would be right to hate him for as long as she lived.