Midsummer Feast

[Hector]

A tremble shivers through the Alpha. His hands twitch. Hector's head swivels from left to right as he checks all the angles. Carefully, reverently, he moves to partially unwrap the weapon. Enough to see it. Enough to run his fingers on the tooled leather sheath and partially draw the [i]klaive[i] free.

Enough to test the edge.

The Alpha hisses. In pride. In pleasure. In reverence.

"This. Is. A. Gift."

"This is a gift. Um. Yeah. I... I don't know what to say. Thank you for deeming me worthy of such a gift. Yeah..."

He hissed, eyes roving the space around them again. He hurriedly sheathed the blade and rewrapped it. But one hand lay on the blade - lightly, as if holding a lover.

[Bird]

Emily's explanation of the Rite of Chosen Ground captures Bird's attention. He smokes and listens, nodding along. Sounds good to him.

Then comes the Crescent's reaction to the drink and the normally blasé Irraka cracks a smile. "Back home, we called it strong wine. Brandy in it. So they say. Probably more like moonshine." He chuckles. "Does work." He takes his own sip, refills his cup and offers to refill Emily's.

Eyes to Tiny: "Yup. Stepped on. She was fiending. You gave her something that would settle her down. She got the high she was after, but y'all didn't have to pay near as much. Thing about stepped on shit, though: the high don't last for long. She's gonna be on that grind again soon, I'd wager." He points to his eye as if to say: keep close watch.

Hector accepts his gift, unwraps it. Bird gives a low whistle of appreciation at the sight of the blade. "Nice..." he says softly, but doesn't add more at present. Instead, he eats more brisket with his same, quiet intensity.

[Emily Makerith]

Emily watches as the gift is Given. Hector certainly seems to appreciate it.

She knocks back the cup and accepts the refill. "I'll bet it does. That's some good shit, man, thanks."

There's a quick clearing of the throat as the Crescent realises she's being addressed by Bleeds Well. "Yeah, uh... Well. Venom-Hunter is the spirit that powers the Fetish. A Biting Dagger. When it's activated, Venom-Hunter empowers the klaive so it'll cut through most anything short of steel plate. Kevlar is nothing to that thing. But, like, it needs to be used. And respected. We promised we would keep people aware of it's name. Venom-hunter." She starts munching a wing. "You, uh, used a fetish before chief?" she asks. Always best to make sure.

[Tiny]

Tiny listens as the gift is given, and the Boss' reaction. It speaks to the generosity, but also the pride of them all in creating such a beautiful and power weapon. The blade just looks...cruel to him. Its not a weapon of honor, but one that will end disputes quickly. It fits all three of them well.

He listens to Bird, and nods along. "Yes, thank you for explaining." He drinks again, and eats more, "Or I could just abandon her and let her step in in her own shit without me. I have no attachment to her past the next paycheck, and there are always new paychecks, even if she smears me. Her denigrations may in fact get me business."

[Bleeds Well]

Bleeds watches Hector intently, no pride shows on his face at Alpha's reaction; just the same stern piercing stare. He grunts, "You're welcome."

Eyes glance to Emily, then around to the other pack mates.

"Use it well, use it wisely," he states, eyes falling back on their Alpha, glancing towards where the man's Wisdom renown glows brightly when in the hisil.

Nations have nukes so they won't have to use them. A pack has fetishes, and pushing that red button is an inevitability awaiting an opportunity.

And speaking of opportunities...

"Checking the shadow left by that old hospital sounds like a fun afternoon." The ghost of a smile plays at Bleed's lips.

[Hector]

Hector's manic eyes are back on the - now modestly covered - blade. From the intensity of his face, he might well be fantasising about what he slays with the weapon. Then his eyes shift and meet his beta's stern gaze.

"Oh I intend to."

He looks over at Emily next.

"Never really had a fetish weapon before. Learning to wield Venom Hunter correctly will be a nice challenge."

He let the unspoken request for advice sit in the air: after all, he had to reflect all their Tribal bans now. And wasn't there one about not showing weakness. He avoided that line of questioning further by moving over to Bird's moonshine brandy and obtaining another drink.

"Fun afternoon? Hmmm.... How long has it been since we cut loose and did a little exploration?"

There was hunting, patrolling the territory, going to war and then there was cutting loose.

"Would you... um... caution... against such an action, given the state of things?"

He turned his attention to both Bird and Tiny.

I'll leave it up to Bird Endymion just how Hector 'obtains' his next drink - he can either get it himself or Bird can pour him another

[Bird]

Emily's appreciation has an effect on Bird. Nothing huge, just a small, satisfied smile. He likes to make his pack mates lives a little easier. It's so rare that they're permitted the small comforts. Good booze, good food, good company.

Speaking of: he sloshes more of the fire-water into his Alpha's cup. "That's a pretty blade, boss," he says. "Wouldn't want to meet it on the street." His words are meant both to honor the Alpha and compliment the craftsmen. No easy feat, making a Fetish like that. Bird wouldn't even know where to start.

Fun? Not for the first time, Fa-ninna resists giving Bleeds Well a look that says You Crazy. Not fun. But necessary. Gotta keep your territory in order. Address little issues before they become big problems.

He refills his own cup, lights another menthol, and leans back, blowing smoke. Considering.

"State of things? I mean, state of things always gonna be fucked. More or less. We got problems on all our borders, way I understand it." Bleeds had explained that well enough to Fa-ninna not too long ago. "But we also got to keep our house clean, boss. If there ain't been no complaints yet, like Tiny says, we might be able to slip in, take care of things now. Easy. But if we wait?" Bird shrugs. Things might not stay easy.

[Emily Makerith]

Emily watches Hector, waiting for him to ask. When it becomes clear her won't, her expression becomes puzzled.

"Uh.... well... you can just feed it some spirit energy. Or you can try and turn it on like the opening to a ritual - a little coaxing and they should open right up." The Crescent looks confused a little longer, drinking her wine. "Ohhhhhhh. Right..." She looks towards Tiny. "This? This is your fault. Well, I suppose technically, technically it's Skolis-Ur's faulth but oin his absence I'm blaming you." She sounds amused. "I mean.... is it weakness to not know something? Or is it a bigger weakness to not ask for help when you need it? Hmmmmmmm." She munched on the chicken. "Y'know, thish is why I coundn' be a Shtorm Lord. Or do that Oath y'all shwore."

Munch. Munch.

"Hospital, huh? Neat. What was going on there?"

[Tiny]

Tiny laughs in agreement, "Yes, I take full responsibility. It is an important lesson that all storm lords learn. The answer, boss, is in the wording. Do not allow anyone to witness or tend to your weakness. If your weakness is that you are ignorant, then letting people know you are ignorant, and even having people explain things to you means showing weakness. If your weakness is pride, than not asking for help when you should makes you weaker, and then your ignorance becomes another weakness. A dog chases its tail and the cycle grows. But if curiosity is a strength, then asking questions is a demonstration of strength, not weakness. If humility is a strength, then asking for help can be a demonstration of weakness, though it is one frought with danger for even the most experienced and dedicated of Skolis' get. Its important to know first what your weakness is, and then second, not let anyone witness or tend to it. They can know about it, and wise storm lords packs know not to tend to or look upon a weakness of each other.
Families are a good example. Children are not looked after by the pack, they and spouses are unwitnessed and untended.
Winter is not the easy season."
He drinks more wine,
"But its a beautiful blade. It scares me." For admitting a fear was not a weakness. Knives in the dark when brought into the light have lost their power.

[Bleeds Well]

Bleeds listens carefully to the Wisdom of the pack. Good words.

Then Tiny drops a bomb that brings a real smile to Bleeds Well's face. Genuine and homicidal, "Good. Then when Venom-Hunter is put to work and stories of it's Glory spread it will scare our enemies. We might be fortunate, that they become so scared of Venom-Hunter they forget what they should truly fear."