Just outside the pub...

[Thorfin Olgensen]

-Basil Oathsen leans casually against the brick pillar next to the bub doors, smoking a cigarette as usual, talking with his brother Wolf-

"... an orphanage? Fuckers! I guess we can thank Gaia or whatever that all that shit went right into the basement, glad we stuck around and cleaned things up. I like your idea about posing as 'inspectors' tomorrow, with that broken pipe we might well be able to kick those kids out, then do the Rite of Cleansing right inside. Heh, wonder what happened when that other 'pack' got back to the bar?"

[Red Moon]

Pressed between the Alpha's lips was the delicate paper of his rolled cigarette.

"No doubt they decided it'd be more fun to "hang out." I can't believe we're forming a Caern with such useless fuckoffs."

Wolf spit on the ground beside him and took an extended blow from the burning shag. The burn was soothing, and he relished the taste.
It certainly was lucky for them that the situation hadn't been more than his pack could handle. At least, if he was gonna be punished for making the fundamentally correct decisions in as fucked-up a situation as it was, he'd have the satisfaction of having cleaned up the other pack's mess. Not to mention a generous profit of renown. It would more than make up for what had been lost. Life is still sweet.~

"And the Elders, too. What are they thinking? Gaia must be pretty fucking hard-up. This is such bullshit."

(This is a closed scene between the pack, "Defiance." Please no interference. It's intended to show a glimpse of the character I've been trying to play, despite the circumstances. Thank you.)

[Thorfin Olgensen]

Basil puts his hand on wolf's shoulder " you know exactly how hard up Gaia is brother, which is exactly why we have to make some exceptions. You and I both know we've never had much success trying to suck up to the 'man' but now the man is a fucking group of badass war vets, they've been through the shit were gonna go through and made it out. Yeah, one day they'll be looking up to us, if they live that long *snigger*, but right now... I hate to admit it but we got an example in 'em. I gotta say, I changed a little in our year apart, I had too."

Basil pauses a moment, sighing through a puff of cigarette. A brief smile crosses his lips as he thinks about his slightly older brother. He knows that if he was anyone else, Wolf would take this opportunity to put his two, three, four or five cents in. Not over Basil though, he didn't talk seriously much, but Wolf had learned over the years that when he got like this he usually had something important to say.

Basil taps on the large triangular patch over his eye "You've been dyeing to hear the story behind this baby, I know you have. Any guesses?"

[Red Moon]

Wolf bit into his cig. It was true. Gaia's in pain, and he knew it, just like anyone else. And with wyrm-bitten retards like this, it was no wonder why. Mac wasn't kidding when he said it'd get harder. Somehow, Quim didn't exactly seem like the kind of ally he, or anyone for that matter, needed.
Still, he managed to save That dead-beat dad o' mine...
Briefly, Wolfgang wondered if things had started out the same way between them. He soon tarnished the though, however. Dad mustv'e been pretty useless, if he needed a liver-spot geezer like Quim to save him.

Smoke flooded his senses, and burned his eyes, as well as the roof of his mouth, as he took another heavy drag and grinned at his foster brother's latest accessory.

"I figured ya jus' fumbled an' fell on yer own knife, but I s'pose yer gonna tell me ya lost it like a man."

A billow of smoke obscured the view between the brothers' faces, as he let out a hoarse chuckle; nearly an amused growl.

"Fine, I'll humor ya. Tell me."

[Thorfin Olgensen]

Basil chuckles and puches his brother in the arm, for a moment it felt like old times, like when they would skip mass and smoke out behind the church, or skip school and hang out at the local greasy spoon. They would make lude comments about the waitress, referencing something they barely knew anything about.

As Basil touches his patch again, he quickly sobers up, thinking about his childhood and then his rite of passage, they contrast so much, he had to grow up fast. Looking back it seems like they had spent a lot of time shirking there responsibilities. It just isn't an option anymore, he had learned the hard way, the consequences are more than just a solid beating, or even losing an eye, the world rests on his shoulders. He doesn't show it, and he doubts anyone would be able to tell besides his brothers, but sometimes he wondered if Gaia had picked the right guy. Shaking out of his morbid thoughts, he laughs

"how'd I know you’d say that? You've gotten predictable in your time with those drunk S-O-B’s in Ireland, I was hoping you would come back with some new material at least! Alright then, the Gallard wants a story? It was a dark and stormy night, middle of winter, about a month short of a year ago. I'd been given a crash course on gauru society with a heavy dash of silver fang politics. I wasn't the best student at first, I figured I knew as much as I needed to, i already had a year under my belt by that time.... In any case I eventually got with the program, learned about the triad and all that fucked up shit, then they through me right in to the god damned philodox fray"

basil laughs at his own dramatic words, shit, he had been so fucking GREEN then!

anyway, they fucking wake me up in the middle of the fucking night, three gauru in full on war form standing above my bed, lightning flashing and all that good dramatic shit. Almost pissed myself, no joke!

basil smiles, sure wolf will have some smart ass remark on the story so far...

[Red Moon]

"Almost pissed myself, no joke!"

Wolf nearly choked in laughter, blowing smoke in every direction, as it dissipated in the cold night air.

"That's fukken hilarious! Closest I came was getting pissin' fukken drunk with Mac, after a mission. Mind you, I had my scrapes and I got down in my fair o' shit, but fuck if I ever got so scared I near pissed myself!"
His laughter echoed, and he drew from his cig again.

"You still watchin' too many horror flicks, man. You musta-looked like one sorry-ass motherfucker before they gave ya balls. I know better, though. Still, I'da cracked a joke sooner 'n that."

Wolfgang smacked his brother on the shoulder. This was what he missed while he was away. He only wished he knew what Pete was doing inside. He was missing out.

Another long pause signaled he was finished teasing, and he filled the air with white smoke once again.

"Heh! So, then what Happened?"

[Thorfin Olgensen]

Basil laughs loudly at his brother's teasing. He was surprised how quickly he was able to fall back into the old routine with his brother.

"Yeah yeah, I figured you probably just passed out before anything got too scary anyway.... Anyway, as I was saying, three huge slobbery chrinos above my bed. In all seriousness I was already in the same form as them and ready to fight by the time I sat up and recognized two of them. You know how I've always been fast with that shifting stuff, ever since our first change"

by this time Basil had long finished his first cigarette and was ready for another, he paused his story just long enough to whip out another and light up in a single fluid motion. With 5 years of practice under his belt, he knew just how cool it looked. He shot wolf a glance as he lit up, telling him with a look that this wasn't another invitation to interrupt. Basil took a quick drag on his cigarette, remembering that night.

"so one of them, a big, proud looking guy I hadn't seen before piped up 'so young one' he says 'you wish to join this tribe? It will take more than a adultering father and a slut of a mother to give you that honor, no matter how pure their blood might have been.' the fucking nerve of that bastard! Course I didn't say shit, couldn't with the rank just rolling off this guy and another fucker on either side o' me, so I kept my cool. Besides, they weren't talking about our ma, just the lady who left me at some orphanage in Santa Fe, hoping she'd never see me again..."

[Red Moon]

Calmly, Wolfgang dropped his spent cigarette butt, and lit another. No need to show off with any smooth tricks, especially to his brother. They both knew exactly how bad-ass the other was. Even before they shifted, they were the best. Nobody ever punked them!
But now, Wolf was interested in his brother's story.

The end of his fresh cig glowing cherry, he listened. Intending on telling this story even better, when he got the chance.

[Thorfin Olgensen]

I was quickly led outside, and then onto a path heading directly out of Caren, no one spoke. All I could thnk about was what kind of challange I would face. About five minutes down the path the higher ranking garu shifted to lupus and the rest of us followed suit. We ran and ran, I don't know for how many miles or how many hours, I didn't even know which direction we were running, have you ever run as a wolf for so long you can't think about anything but the next lope? I think I was supposed to clear my head, and it worked. Dawn came and whent and then it was night again, I looked up and saw it was the half moon, my moon, the moon of judgement. We came to the top of a crest where we stopped, and my vision was filled by the most perfect crecent lake I have ever seen, it's surface refected luna's light like a mirror, it was like I was staring into the umbra" basil pauses for a momment, closing his good eye and remembering.

[Red Moon]

Wolf nodded silently. The description of the lake reminded him of his own rite of passage Nothing quite beat the Irish countryside in the middle of winter.
Silently, he wondered how similar their initiations were, but then, he doubted the philodox challenge had significantly less to do with contests of strength and dexterity. Still, he did wonder if his brother also had to compete for his rank.