A certain Fianna Galliard, Cinder Song, takes the bone at one point -- some point. Who has been covering her eyes with the heels of her palms, digging and digging them in, just - because! Because human-born, human-raised, American, she is the Traditionaliest Traditionalist in her heart of hearts, at least some times. And because she will not make her point to the Sept using the history of J. R. R. Tolkien's Gondor she will not make her point to the Sept using the history of J. R. R. Tolkien's Gondor she will not make her point to the Sept using J. R. R. Tolkien's --
-- but eventually, certain impulses quenched, she uncovers her eyes, springs to her feet, and when she has the bone, holds it tightly and with two hands, testing her strength against it in a gentle way to take the edge off. "What -- " she begins, something in her tone hot enough to turn sand to blistered glass, and then stops. Aborts. Takes a deep breath. Begins again. Less heat.
"Politics are a pain in the ass, but they're not going to stop existing just because we want them to. The Grand Elder of one Sept is not equal to the Grand Elder of another. The pack leader of one pack is not equal to the pack leader of another pack. The fostern of one tribe is not equal to the fostern of another tribe. The fostern if one tribe is not even necessarily equal to another fostern from the same tribe. What I'm saying, and what I feel is being forgotten, is that precedence exists, and Cold Crescent havings its own Grand Elder shouldn't impact how much we respect the wisdom and deeds of the Great Alpha of Forgotten Questions. Especially if it's Vigor and Rigor-rhya -- the Great Alpha's answer to, please, Rhya, we'd like your guidance, choose your helmsman, give us a leader, who do you trust to lead the fledgling Sept of young idealists?"
"So somebody might one day challenge the leader of Cold Crescent. So what? I imagine that someone might conceivably one day challenge the leader of Forgotten Questions, too. Challenges fucking happen and it's right that they should. The possibility that maybe, one day in the future, somebody might maaayyybe challenge, and win that challenge, because let's not forget, um, a good leader shouldn't lose an honorable challenge along those lines -- well letting that maybe keep us from acknowledging someone as a leader is ridiculous.
"Should we also give up our Tribes if we want to protect Cold Crescent, because, you know, traditionally that tribe over there doesn't get along all that well with this tribe over here, and it might be a pain in the ass later for two Garou of those tribes to work together?
"That's how ridiculous what I'm hearing sounds to me."
"There is no reason to fear that somehow having a leader, an actual leader, someone we look to, someone with a degree -- just a degree -- of independence from this Sept, will make the Garou who spend time in the city any less devoted to protecting this Caern. To suggest otherwise is to suggest that we're poor flea-chewing filth-wallowing wrathless and toothless -- "
Pause. Break. Falter. Then, quieter:
"Two Septs. Two Leaders. One goal. Fight the Wyrm. Two Septs can be friends. Two Septs can be like the trees that grow together: braiding up toward the sky and the stars and Luna's face, roots twisting together, and reaching out. Two Septs can be allies. Hell. I think it's good to try that whole Two Septs Are Close and Friendly Allies thing here, of all places: Wouldn't that make a hellova story to spread, after everything else that we take out of this area?
"What happened before with Cold Crescent - what I got from the story of that - it wasn't that bad things happened because Cold Crescent's leader didn't get along with Forgotten Questions's. Bad things happened because the leaders of Cold Crescent made the CHOICE to hide things important to the safety of their Sept and their neighboring Sept and they hid those things from everybody: including their own Septmates. They were punished. We're moving forward. We're going to figure out what that Pit is. We're going to take the rest of Beloved Horror and display their skulls for three hundred generations and for at least two hundred of those generations our descendents will spit on the skulls and say, I remember what happened, how the garou of Forgotten Questions and the garou of Cold Crescent dealt with those beasts. We're going to build something lasting."
"Two Septs. Two Leaders. It's what's right."
Bone handed off, bone handed off.
---
ooc: you know, I'll fix this later, too lazy now, but instead of Great Alpha she totally used whatever his name is + SUPER RESPECTFUL rhya! I don't remember it! Bad me.
-- but eventually, certain impulses quenched, she uncovers her eyes, springs to her feet, and when she has the bone, holds it tightly and with two hands, testing her strength against it in a gentle way to take the edge off. "What -- " she begins, something in her tone hot enough to turn sand to blistered glass, and then stops. Aborts. Takes a deep breath. Begins again. Less heat.
"Politics are a pain in the ass, but they're not going to stop existing just because we want them to. The Grand Elder of one Sept is not equal to the Grand Elder of another. The pack leader of one pack is not equal to the pack leader of another pack. The fostern of one tribe is not equal to the fostern of another tribe. The fostern if one tribe is not even necessarily equal to another fostern from the same tribe. What I'm saying, and what I feel is being forgotten, is that precedence exists, and Cold Crescent havings its own Grand Elder shouldn't impact how much we respect the wisdom and deeds of the Great Alpha of Forgotten Questions. Especially if it's Vigor and Rigor-rhya -- the Great Alpha's answer to, please, Rhya, we'd like your guidance, choose your helmsman, give us a leader, who do you trust to lead the fledgling Sept of young idealists?"
"So somebody might one day challenge the leader of Cold Crescent. So what? I imagine that someone might conceivably one day challenge the leader of Forgotten Questions, too. Challenges fucking happen and it's right that they should. The possibility that maybe, one day in the future, somebody might maaayyybe challenge, and win that challenge, because let's not forget, um, a good leader shouldn't lose an honorable challenge along those lines -- well letting that maybe keep us from acknowledging someone as a leader is ridiculous.
"Should we also give up our Tribes if we want to protect Cold Crescent, because, you know, traditionally that tribe over there doesn't get along all that well with this tribe over here, and it might be a pain in the ass later for two Garou of those tribes to work together?
"That's how ridiculous what I'm hearing sounds to me."
"There is no reason to fear that somehow having a leader, an actual leader, someone we look to, someone with a degree -- just a degree -- of independence from this Sept, will make the Garou who spend time in the city any less devoted to protecting this Caern. To suggest otherwise is to suggest that we're poor flea-chewing filth-wallowing wrathless and toothless -- "
Pause. Break. Falter. Then, quieter:
"Two Septs. Two Leaders. One goal. Fight the Wyrm. Two Septs can be friends. Two Septs can be like the trees that grow together: braiding up toward the sky and the stars and Luna's face, roots twisting together, and reaching out. Two Septs can be allies. Hell. I think it's good to try that whole Two Septs Are Close and Friendly Allies thing here, of all places: Wouldn't that make a hellova story to spread, after everything else that we take out of this area?
"What happened before with Cold Crescent - what I got from the story of that - it wasn't that bad things happened because Cold Crescent's leader didn't get along with Forgotten Questions's. Bad things happened because the leaders of Cold Crescent made the CHOICE to hide things important to the safety of their Sept and their neighboring Sept and they hid those things from everybody: including their own Septmates. They were punished. We're moving forward. We're going to figure out what that Pit is. We're going to take the rest of Beloved Horror and display their skulls for three hundred generations and for at least two hundred of those generations our descendents will spit on the skulls and say, I remember what happened, how the garou of Forgotten Questions and the garou of Cold Crescent dealt with those beasts. We're going to build something lasting."
"Two Septs. Two Leaders. It's what's right."
Bone handed off, bone handed off.
---
ooc: you know, I'll fix this later, too lazy now, but instead of Great Alpha she totally used whatever his name is + SUPER RESPECTFUL rhya! I don't remember it! Bad me.