On Wings of Winter

[Brigit]

Brigit grants the Alpha a nod, giving the man a symbolic gesture of respect for understanding her points.

Turning her head to the newcomer, Brigit listens to his points, but crosses her arms. The distrustful Talon's expression does not change and she appears unswayed.

  2 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-02-03 16:24:51		Brigit rolls 5 to Resist Allen's Points (Resolve+Comp) (10 Again)		1, 2, 7, 3, 10, 8		2 successes

The Redeemed shook her head and let out a frustrated chuckle and smirked. He didn't get it. There have always been more of the Anshega and the war with the Forsaken had long been their wayward siblings' focus. Whereas the Urdaga strived to ensure the balance of the Gauntlet remained their priority, the Anshega prioritized things differently. To Brigit, dancing around with hypothetical strategy when the path to war seemed unavoidable was wasteful.

"You suggest we can dissuade them from our ancient conflict? You must assume them to be fools, but I remind you that they have the blood of Father Wolf as much as you do and they are cunning" she says, "They already have evidence that we are not weak. We have turned away one pack already in Glory and dissuaded another from entering our territory."

Leaning against the train car, she'd continue.

"Moreover, they want Sacramento just as much as we do. They won't suffer the presence of heretics, weak or no. To them, we are anathema," Brigit states, "I fail to see how looking like prey will make them less zealous. The best hunters attack the weak first."

Then the Blood Talon's smirk disappeared.

"However, your want to do nothing has a greater risk. The Hisil of Sacramento is wrong, Allen," she says, letting a pause sit for a moment before proceeding, "To look weak we would have to set aside our most sacred duty. The Pure will take notice if we bring the Hisil closer to balance and, if we do nothing, the wounds will continue to seep."

Then a look to Hector.

"We cannot shirk our duty," she says, her words meant for the Alpha, "In balancing our territory, our stories will draw more Urdaga to mend this place. When the Anshega come, they will come with numbers. We should work to ensure we do the same."

If the Clarion Call does nothing to fix the Hisil in the face of adversity, other Urdaga will consider Sacramento a lost cause. The pack would be left to die as the Pure moved in with greater force and Brigit would be damned if she let that happen.

At the mention of Matt, Brigit's gaze returns to the Storm Lord.

"He is a brother, newblood," she says. Matt and Brigit had hunted together and even fought as one. Their were few ways to earn a warrior's trust, but the Giant had been willing to bleed with the pack. Brigit respected that.

Then came Bleeds Well's speech.

"He's right," she says, "In our fight, we have defended our territory, ourselves, and the Herd. Creating an offensive would be dangerous. The risk to our numbers would be great and you cannot guarantee victory. Our task is greater than our conflict with the Pure and I personally would take issue if we put all of our shit on the line for a ruse."

Turning back to Hector, Brigit's face speaks of her interest in the Alpha's thoughts on Allen Brackett.

"I am of a mind with my tribemate, Alpha," she says, affirming her position to be the same as Bleeds Well's, "What say you? Should we take this one next time we hunt?"

To be clear, I am assuming that Brigit's role as the defender in the contest makes her the victor, if this is not the case let me know Kelreth and I will rewrite my post. This was a contested roll, as Allen's efforts of persuasion were not in line with Brigit's own beliefs on the matter, hence the defending roll on my part.

[Matt Joule]

Matt stares hard at the newcomer, saying nothing even when he talks about Matt instead of directly to him. "Just as well", Matt's posture seems to suggest, as he seems ready to deal with the newcomer as an intruder if necessary, not at all convinced the newcomer has accepted the Alpha's authority over the territory and everyone in it.

[Hector]

The grin stuck on Hector's face... grows.

"Good to see you value Cunning as well as Honour, Elodoth."

His head tilted to one side again and hand (all blackened and cracked nails) ran through his shaggy, unkempt, hair. His eyes narrowed, boring through Allen Brackett to a point somewhere behind him.

"Oh he is coming with us when we hunt."

That for the pack. Hector would turn away no hand. Or paw. They had need and Necessary Guile would expect as much.

"I speak for our Totem and Necessary Guile would expect us to take any help that is offered. And Allen's plan's here are not without use. I mean... if you can figure out a way to track down where the Pure packs are and who their allies among the herd are..."

Never chattel. The human herd are herd. Sometimes prey. Sometimes ally. Sometimes a lesson. Sometimes a wild card. Always background colour to the epic struggle of the People.

"If you can do that, I am sure we can sit down and make some proper plans. Otherwise, I'll react as situation demands. The Shadow requires our constant care, first and foremost."

He let himself look back at Brigit in silent acknowledgement of her words. Honour your territory in all things was the Iron Master favoured portion of the Oath after all.

[Brigit]

Brigit glanced to Matt from her place against the traincar.

"Take it easy," she said, "If he was gonna try shit we already got him surrounded. Ain't no harm in saying hello, yeah? You well?"

See? Brigit could try to be less... intense. When she wanted to.

The Once-Pure listened to Hector's reasoning for accepting the Storm Lord into their ranks. Her lips were pressed thin, indicating her distrust, but who could blame her? They were at the center of a jewel the Anshega no doubt wanted.

"Alright," she offered, accepting the Alpha's declaration before shifting her gaze back to the Iminir, "Then when we hunt I will call you brother."

It was the same declaration she had given Bleeds Well and he was a tribe member. Trust did not come easily.

Pushing off the traincar, Brigit approached Allen as he spoke, an eyebrow perking and a smirk hitting her lips at his proposed indifference.

"If the Urdaga who showed me the truth were indifferent about it all, I'd be a corpse," she offered, granting a small lesson in redemption, "So it's good to hear you give a shit. The Rage is something to be tempered."

At least they agreed on something. That was a start.

After a moment, a hand was extended to the plain looking Storm Lord.

"Welcome to Sacramento, Iminir," she said.

Hector had already made his intention to accept Allen clear. It was left to the pack to show they accepted the Alpha's declaration... or questioned his Wisdom.

[Bleeds Well]

Alpha has spoken. No sense in delaying things.

I let Hector know my intention.<I find Prey.> I'm much better at that than standing around jaw-jacking.

I do offer the newcomer a brief, 'heart-felt' word, <Welcome> With just a little effort and essence I'm through the gauntlet and in the hisil.

[Matt Joule]

Matt listens to what the Alpha says, and then Brigit, and then nods slightly. "Welcome." The giant says, grinning a feral, tooth-filled grin.

[Hector]

<Go>

Hector uttered quietly as Bleeds Well slid passed.

He stood, waiting patiently while the Rahu vanished through the Gauntlet.

[Brigit]

Brigit watches Bleeds depart after offering his welcome. Even Matt spoke.

"Great, we're one big happy family," she said with only a hint of sarcasm.

She'd look to Matt and shrug, granting Allen his name was up to the Giant. However, Hector's decision to bring Allen in seemed clear.

When she is addressed again Brigit looks to Hector briefly before deciding to answer.

"Well, we only know so much, but we've gathered some intel," she offered, "Long story short, an event in the past wiped out the Uratha of Sacramento, Urdaga and Anshega. Details are a bit fuzzy, but when I was told it reminded me of an old Izidakh rite that I had heard tell of when I was younger. It burns everything away, leaving the Hisil empty in its wake alongside any Uratha still on the other side. So that's my theory, no way of telling if that's what happened yet though."

"Without the Urdaga to police them, the spirits returned and got out of control. Even the Hosts are thriving. I've heard the Azlu have deeply embedded themselves and one can assume the Beshilu have done the same," Brigit continued, "Aside from the Tur and some other pockets, it's a fucking mess. If you need to know more, you'll need to chat with the Ithaeur. We got two with us and one was raised here."

A pause hangs as Brigit mulls over her next dire words.

"With the Anshega coming back, that's a whole other set of problems. They want to end the Gauntlet and bring back Pangaea," she said, "That means they need to rend the barrier... so looking into things that stink of the Beshilu is probably a good place to start countering their efforts."