October: Cracking the Bone

[Samael]

Javed has spoken in answer to the Fool's Question, but he did not yet speak on the fate of the Elders of Cold Crescent. He had returned to sit near Avery to allow others to voice their opinions, speak their mind. He accepted the hand from Avery and, while it may surprise some, he returns the squeeze before their hands part. He understands his packmate's anger and while there is no outpouring of sympathy from Strider to Fang, there does not need to be. The importance is this: they understand each other.

And so Anubis-Sight listens to the others speak, argue for and against the Elders. And when Thomas is done, Javed rises again, moves to take the bone.

"Thunder’s Cry Echoes From the Sea and Black Sheep both speak the truth," he begins, rumbling in that gravelly, accented baritone. "We do not yet know what ultimately led to the fall of Champion of Honor, nor what led green fire to scour the inside of the Sept of the Cold Crescent. But the fact remains that we do not know because we did not have the opportunity to study deeper. And we did not have that opportunity because, as Dances with the Hurricane pointed out, the Elders of Cold Crescent did not do their proper diligence in taking precautions for the good of the Sept."

He looks out among the Garou, his anger held back by his homid form through the power of restraint. It pulses and rolls over itself; it's nearly palpable. But anger will only do so much. It is a difficult balancing act the Garou play, dancing between reason and instinct. The Ahroun understands that well and he keeps himself right on the edge of the latter without losing the former.

"The argument has been made that the elders' sin was simply one of omission and that it was based on the best available information, and that perhaps we may have done the same." He shakes his head. "We cannot say. It is not our task to speculate on what we would have done when advising judgment for or against them. We were not in their position and we did not have that mantle placed upon them. Leadership is a difficult burden, particularly in the Weaver's domain. But difficulty is not a mitigating factor. They accepted this burden and whoever accepts it after then shall do the same." Clearly, the metis believes that the Sept should remain open; that is not being discussed now of course, but he slides it in there while making his point.

"Accepting that burden meant being prepared to make choices that would be weighed against them. They were responsible for more than themselves and their kin; they were responsible for more than their pack. The greater the scope of responsibility, the further you must seek...the better you must become. Perhaps Champion of Honor should have been quarantined somewhere safer, or examined more closely. Whatever their intentions, whatever their resources, the point is that they failed."

And here, he lets a little of his anger show as his lip curls, a bit of a growl enters the rasp.

"They let a sept be violated. In a day when our septs become increasingly fewer." His hand clenches, tightening around the bone. "They failed to properly combat the Wyrm by denying the appropriate information to others that could be used against Green Dragon's minions. They failed to show the Garou and kinfolk of their Sept and, indeed, of the whole city the respect due to them by being deceitful. Their failure to be forthcoming caused several near Veil breaches, and possibly several that were never discovered due to the spirits that scoured the downtown area. All of these are Litany breaches."

He stops there a moment, letting the anger fade a bit, before speaking again. "Can they be trusted as leaders? Again, I agree with Dances with the Hurricane when I say that I could not do so. And we are not the only one. These trespasses could be taken in stride, if not for the fact that they did not have the honor to step forward and admit their failings until they were taken away by the elders here, in order to be compelled to answer. Some among us asked, and no answers were given until they were forced to. They would not even show at the moot in order to honor those who had fallen that month."

A shake of his head. "Their intentions being whatever they were...they failed at their tasks. So very drastically that a Sept still hangs in the balance. And they lacked the honor to admit it. I see no other recourse for that than the most final of judgments. Garou have fallen for far less."

His opinion given, he hands the bone on, or sets it in front of the Great Alpha if there are none else to speak, and returns to his spot.