08-13-2014, 08:59 PM
It is
literally
too much for Erich and he can't even. He knew Avery was going to name him tonight; she'd talked to him about it and he'd asked her to and he knew it was going to happen during the moot, but he sort of thought it'd just be a little aside during the Cracking of the Bone, like: oh hey btw here's Erich's new nickname. But the Cracking comes and the Cracking goes and Erich is a little puzzled and maybe just a little sad because onoz was he forgotten? He wouldn't be surprised if he was -- no, wait, there's more of that negative thinking that Melantha was always berating him for.
And then.
And then.
AND THEN.
--
It's no small thing, see, when a Silver Fang stands up to name you. There's a lot of resentment amongst the Common Tribes and there's a lot of hate and a lot of it is for good reason and let's be honest, for every Silver Fang like Avery Chase there are probably two, three, or ten inbred, selfish, out-of-touch wastrels, but
let's be honest again: the Garou are a people of instinct and tradition. And seeing that shining blood, that gleaming purity, it's hard not to take notice. It's hard not to sit a little straighter, stand a little taller. It's hard not to feel just a little bit awed.
Especially when it's not just any Fang. Especially when it's Avery, strong and heroic and brave and pure; Avery, who is almost universally liked and respected; Avery, who Erich quite frankly looks up to. Avery, who is naming him, and in naming him, recounting the deeds of that fateful night. Avery, who is telling that story in a way Erich had never thought of it himself, making him sound not ordinary and fumbling and unremarkable at all. Making him sound not at all the strange boy with Fenris's blood and Thunder's soul, the strange boy that neither tribe really wanted or liked, the strange boy who spent the first seven years of his Garou life packless, shiftless, rootless. Making him sound strong and heroic and brave and pure; likeable, and respectable, and so very different from the way he sees himself that in the end it is strange, it is jolting, to hear her put his name to those deeds.
Maybe that's the point. Maybe with this new name, she's giving him a new glimpse at himself. Maybe that's the whole, entire point.
--
When she's done, she starts to applaud. And maybe the Fenrir contingent is uneager to join and maybe the Shadow Lord contingent is wondering why the fuck a Fang just named one of their supposed sons and maybe all in all the applause isn't exactly uproarious. That hardly seems to matter, though. What Erich hears is Avery applauding. And Charlotte. And maybe other people too, the ones he's fought beside, the ones he's bled beside. He hears applause, and then he's bounding up and going into the circle, heading in like he's going to accept an Academy Award or something except that's not it at all,
he's just going in to hug Avery. Which is what he does: throws his arms around her and gives her an endless, endless squeeze.
"Son of Rage," he says, muffled, like he's testing it out. "Thank you, Radiant Honor-yuf."
literally
too much for Erich and he can't even. He knew Avery was going to name him tonight; she'd talked to him about it and he'd asked her to and he knew it was going to happen during the moot, but he sort of thought it'd just be a little aside during the Cracking of the Bone, like: oh hey btw here's Erich's new nickname. But the Cracking comes and the Cracking goes and Erich is a little puzzled and maybe just a little sad because onoz was he forgotten? He wouldn't be surprised if he was -- no, wait, there's more of that negative thinking that Melantha was always berating him for.
And then.
And then.
AND THEN.
--
It's no small thing, see, when a Silver Fang stands up to name you. There's a lot of resentment amongst the Common Tribes and there's a lot of hate and a lot of it is for good reason and let's be honest, for every Silver Fang like Avery Chase there are probably two, three, or ten inbred, selfish, out-of-touch wastrels, but
let's be honest again: the Garou are a people of instinct and tradition. And seeing that shining blood, that gleaming purity, it's hard not to take notice. It's hard not to sit a little straighter, stand a little taller. It's hard not to feel just a little bit awed.
Especially when it's not just any Fang. Especially when it's Avery, strong and heroic and brave and pure; Avery, who is almost universally liked and respected; Avery, who Erich quite frankly looks up to. Avery, who is naming him, and in naming him, recounting the deeds of that fateful night. Avery, who is telling that story in a way Erich had never thought of it himself, making him sound not ordinary and fumbling and unremarkable at all. Making him sound not at all the strange boy with Fenris's blood and Thunder's soul, the strange boy that neither tribe really wanted or liked, the strange boy who spent the first seven years of his Garou life packless, shiftless, rootless. Making him sound strong and heroic and brave and pure; likeable, and respectable, and so very different from the way he sees himself that in the end it is strange, it is jolting, to hear her put his name to those deeds.
Maybe that's the point. Maybe with this new name, she's giving him a new glimpse at himself. Maybe that's the whole, entire point.
--
When she's done, she starts to applaud. And maybe the Fenrir contingent is uneager to join and maybe the Shadow Lord contingent is wondering why the fuck a Fang just named one of their supposed sons and maybe all in all the applause isn't exactly uproarious. That hardly seems to matter, though. What Erich hears is Avery applauding. And Charlotte. And maybe other people too, the ones he's fought beside, the ones he's bled beside. He hears applause, and then he's bounding up and going into the circle, heading in like he's going to accept an Academy Award or something except that's not it at all,
he's just going in to hug Avery. Which is what he does: throws his arms around her and gives her an endless, endless squeeze.
"Son of Rage," he says, muffled, like he's testing it out. "Thank you, Radiant Honor-yuf."
BECAUSE OF LIGHT AND DUTY AND REASONS.