07-05-2013, 11:17 PM
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."
"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."
"The anger of a good man is not a problem. Good men have too many rules."
"Good men don't need rules. And today's not the day to find out why I have so many."
"Good men don't need rules. And today's not the day to find out why I have so many."