a one woman theurge collection agency [attn: Samael]

[errin]

After she made sure that Winona was properly set up in the spare room, Phoebe excused herself and set out. It's not at all a good time for her to be out, hm mm, no not at all. The usually lovely woman with the captivating charm is a bit less than that today. Her hair, long and dark and straight, is duller than usual. There's a lessening of her vitality, a weakening of her connection to the spirit world and to her Rage. But she's already been out once and that's turned out well. And that outing has led her to want this one, and once Phoebe Stavros has decided on a thing it's usually difficult to talk her out of it.

What is she doing? She's looking for a woman. Not just any woman. This one is of average height, has darker skin and hair tied back into a multitude of braids. Oh, and the staff, one mustn't forget the staff.

Phoebe is looking for Still Waters. She remembers, vaguely, learning that the Theurge has family in the city, that one of them owns a shop. So she starts there, at Goddess Gallery, and she moves on if she has to. Weary as she is, worn out as she appears, she has to do this. Now that the idea's struck her, she doesn't want to wait the few days it'll take for her to be back to her full potential, and a little bit beyond it by the grace of Luna.

When she finds the Theurge she once carried on her slender shoulders against a veritable brick wall of male opponents (they almost defeated them, too, they were THAT close), she greets her warmly. She engages in polite conversation, though it's obvious she didn't come find her just to shoot the shit. Which is exactly what she says when they've covered all the How are yous and the What have you been up tos.

"Look, I didn't come here to shoot the shit," see, I told you. "You don't have a pack, do you? Why is that?"

[Samael]

The Goddess Gallery is generally a great place to start when looking for Keisha. Odds are usually about 50/50 that you'll actually find her there at any particular point during the day; she works there after all and even hangs out when she's off shift sometimes. Today, however, is not one of those days and Phoebe finds instead Keisha's uncle. He's from the Caucasian side of the Gaian's mixed heritage and, with a round face, bald crown and beard, looks rather like Rob Reiner did during his <i>Sleepless in Seattle</i> supporting role days. He is very friendly with Phoebe, small talks with her and says that Keisha is not working today but she should be at home about now. Which is the address he gives Phoebe.

Keisha's home is an apartment near the campus of UC-Denver. Its location makes the complex very younger-skewed; many people living there are second-year (and up) students and the overall vibe is mellow. Keisha is on the bottom floor near the back of the complex. She answers the door when Phoebe shows up, smiling when she sees the other theurge. She is of course invited in to the place, which is a mix of what a normal twenty-something woman's aparment might look like with a zen-Wiccan philosophy. She lights some incense and asks if she can get the Fostern anything to drink, then invites her to sit and talk.

When Phoebe gets down to business, Keisha smiles. "Well, 'cause people keep having to go elsewhere." It's said with humor, but honesty. "I've had a couple situations that looked promising, but in both cases someone had to leave Denver for the foreseeable future. I'm interested in a pack certainly, it's just a matter of finding people, particularly ones that are okay packing with a pacifist. Which is about as easy as you might think."

There's no resentment in the statement; she totally understands why. "So yeah, that's basically the reason that I'm not packed yet."

[errin]

It's good that Keisha wasn't at the place of business, although Phoebe was more than pleased to speak with the other Theurge's uncle. She is polite but distant, a trait he may or may not recognize from his niece. She makes no attempt to disguise how crestfallen she is when she's told the woman she seeks isn't here, but it melts away into a vague sort of pleasure when she's given Keisha's address. She gets her number, too, if he's willing to share it, so that she can give Keisha some sort of heads up about her impending arrival.

She accepts the offered hospitality, asking for something with caffeine if she has it - tea or soda or coffee will do, though it won't do much to energize her, not today - or water if she doesn't. When they get to the business of her visit, Phoebe's mouth quirks and she nods. People had to leave. It's something that she understands completely. Mention of her pacisfism gets a frown, though perhaps not the reason Keisha might think.

"But you're a Theurge," is what she says, as if this should explain away anyone's misgivings about Keisha's vow. "I would be more concerned with an Ahroun pacifist than a Theurge. Gaia gave us all claws, but she made some of them sharper than others."

[Samael]

Keisha brews up some black tea for them and it's sitting out by the time they're down to business. She isn't particularly surprised by the frown, though the reason does come as a welcome change of pace for her. She smiles a little bit and nods.

"That's true, and you'd think that most people would say that. There are those out there that equate pacificism with cowardice though, or weakness. In my experience at least, when you tell your average Get of Fenris that you won't take any life at all, the reaction tends to be..." She gives a shrug, her expression saying that she's seeking for a suitable euphemism. "...adverse."

"I haven't run into it here mostly," she says as a quick follow-up, picking up her tea. "Which is great. It was more common back home. That's what gave me the impetus to head elsewhere. Which brought me here."

[errin]

Her frown melts away into a smile that grows little by little. "Well, if you're talking to Get," she says, but leaves it there like the rest of the sentence should be obvious. What do you expect?

She sips her tea, her body curved forward to rest an elbow on the table and her chin on her upraised fist. As she suspected, the tea doesn't do much to revitalize her, but it's nice. Sipping tea and talking with another werewolf of her moon.

"I'm glad we've made a better showing here than back home." Shifting in her seat, she pushes herself to sit up a little straighter. "Some people are stupid, Keisha," she says. "They make assumptions without thinking to ask for clarification. Cowardice and weakness would depend on the reason you're a pacifist. If, for instance, you said you had wrongly taken a life and you had sworn it off, then yes. I would think you were weak. And a coward." The look she gives Keisha when she says these things, it's sharper, more direct. Fierce. It fades away like snow melting. "That's not the assumption I would make of a crescent moon of your tribe. But please, tell me. Why won't you take any life at all?"

[Samael]

When Phoebe lays out what she would or wouldn't consider cowardly, Keisha actually smiles. She cups her tea in both hands and looks down at it a moment, then back up when the other Theurge asks for her reasoning. Her expression is more thoughtfully amused than anything else. Perhaps a bit reflective.

"They usually don't ask why, and I appreciate that you have." She sighs. "So here's the irony. Initially, yeah it was exactly what you said. Or rather..."

She sets the cup down and leans back on her couch. "It's not why I took my vow. Let's make that clear. But it's where the inclination first took root. The night of my First Change, I didn't really know what was about to happen. My parents were both kinfolk, so it was never considered very likely that I'd have a First Change. Once they knew, they called the Theurge who had taught me Iskakku to come but were leaving it to him to explain it all. Unfortunately...I was a teenager who was dealing with 'anger issues.'" She gives a wry smile.

"So I snuck out and went to hang out with some friends at a Halloween party at a club. One of the guys there got rough with one of my girlfriends and I hit him across the cheek with a bottle. Several times, and nearly killed him. Levi--the Theurge--found me after that and started fostering me. So that's where it was born. But that's not where I was when I took my vow. It just gave me the excuse to explore my thoughts about life and death, and our purpose."

She leans forward again. She isn't defensive about the whole thing. Some would call it idealistic or its less admirable cousin, naive. It's more accurately described, however, as passionate, and she's a bit more energized as she explains.

"We're the Goddess'--Gaia's--Warriors. But we're not her only children. Everything is. Us, the other breeds, spirits, animals, insects, humans. We're here to defend her, but to defend and rescure her children too. Even the ones that go astray and get corrupted, when possible. There's enough hatred and injustice in the world. Life is a gift from the Goddess, and I love her too much to destroy her gifts."

And there it is. She sighs a little, and gives a smile. "That's why."

[errin]

Anger issues gets an understanding upward curve of Phoebe's lips. She is quite familiar with those, though it would be difficult to imagine now. Except, of course, in those rare moments of sharp, understated ferocity. Despite her gentle, slightly addled nature, she is beneath it all a werewolf, a creature of Rage. Over the years she's managed to drown it out with her spiritual acuity, but it's still there, still somewhere beneath the surface of her skin, burning, waiting for the spark to ignite it.

She doesn't interrupt. She may not be a Galliard, but she knows that this is Keisha's time to speak, and her time to listen. And to assess. And to consider.

Even in the beginning, when Keisha was first dealing with her budding Rage and shying away from inflicting death on others, Phoebe wouldn't call it cowardice. It certainly ends in idealism, however, but when it does end she's smiling.

"As I thought."

What other reason could ever be expected of a Child of Gaia Theurge?

"I have an idea for a pack. I thought of it this morning while sharing the burden of talen making with another young Theurge, Winona." Her brows lift toward Keisha, questioning, looking to see if she recognizes the name. Probably not, the girl said she'd only recently come to Denver. "It would be the three of us to start, the purpose being tending to the spiritual needs of the city and both septs. I don't know how much clawed combat would be required of a pack like that, I haven't seen it done before. But I want to try it." Her hazel eyes are bright with the possibility of it. "And I would like it if you joined me."

[Samael]

As I thought.

That's Phoebe's only response, and it's accepting. The child of Unicorn would be lying if she said she wasn't a little relieved by that. It's one thing to say that you're comfortable with your choices in life and resolute, and that other people's disagreement doesn't invalidate how you feel. It's another thing entirely to say that other people's opinions carry no weight. There are very few people who can say that, and Keisha would suggest (albeit politely) that they could stand to expand their views, even if she agreed with their opinions.

Phoebe starts to lay out her idea, and asks (without asking) if Keisha knows Winona. She shakes her head a little in the negative. The Fostern's plan causes Keisha's smile to grow a little. She has her moments where she's grounded and spiritual, and she has her other moments where she's a bit socially awkward around people that she doesn't know well. Right now she looks excited, like someone in their vearly twenties would be over any idea that absolutely loved.

"I am so very, very in." She nods, perhaps the slightest bit more vigorously than she intended, causing her dreadlocks to bounce a little. "I love it. And to be clear: I will fight, if necessary. It's certainly not like I'm standing on the sidelines if something breaks out." She nods her head toward the staff. "I fight in a very different way than most of us."

[errin]

People have different opinions on fighting, depending on auspice and tribe and rank. Whatever Phoebe's thoughts may be on the topic of pacifist Garou she keeps them to herself. And to be honest, they're not that strong. Denver is a large enough city that there's no shortage of Ahrouns and better trained warriors to rely on to fight. And it's not like Garou like them are completely helpless.

They all have their strengths and their weaknesses, and their differences. They each have their places within the grander scheme of things.

"Yes," she says brightly, quietly triumphant. Her faint smile broadens, becomes big and broad and bright when Keisha says she's so very, very in. Her nose crinkles with that smile.

Her head cants a little to the side, and she nods at the last, hazel eyes shifting to the staff. "There's a difference between fighting and killing." It's not even a question. It's acceptance and understanding and, at least a little, approving. It's not a path Phoebe herself would take, but she understands and approves of it in the Cliath Theurge.

She stays a little longer after that as they discuss the spirits they would like to track down, which ones they want to find, which ones might be more agreeable or more amenable to their purpose. When Phoebe eventually leaves, she may not be mystically bound to Still Waters, but she knows that she's leaving with a new sister.

Which only leaves Over Sea, Under Stone. Phoebe will give her a few more days to settle in to her new room. And then she will pounce.