Chapter 2: Into a Starlit Skay

Breaks-The-Iron-Horse bellows a maddened howl as blood and viscera coats his fur. His head snapped around, looking for more things to rend and tear. The first thing he sees is Lan dragging up what remained of the gunman to him. He did not comprehend what he was seeing. All his mind wanted was to tear into it, to feel blood fill his maw and his claws rend flesh. The enormous Crinos launched himself at Lan, massive paws grabbing tight, and his maw opening to bite the unfortunate Talon's head of... when a spark of instinct and reason broke through. The red haze lifted and some sort of comprehension came into his eyes. Seeing what he was doing, Breaks-the-Iron-Horse let go of Lan and simply stood there, panting, coated in sweat and blood. He did not remember what happened. But the wyrm-things are dead. Did he do that?..

"This is strange" Spirit Walker leaning to investigate. "I sensed no spiritual influence of this human. His powers are not reflect in the Umbra". He turns to Lan and notices the note. "What does it say? Do we know what's in that place?"

As he waits for the others to figure that out, one idea comes to his mind and he starts ritually preparing the grounds ...

Breaks-The-Iron-Horse snapped his head towards Lan, who had dared to claim power over him like a monkey would.
"My rage is not your concern. We are not a pack, and if we were, I would be your alpha! Know your place!" He growled ferally, his massive crinos form practically gnawing as he formed the crude words of the garou tongue. The rage that had so shortly taken over the Ahroun was still very much present, just simmering below the surface and ready to erupt once more. And as the wolves had not established a pecking order between them while he was still giving off the body language of dominance which remained unchallenged, the Ahroun seemed unwilling to submit to anything or anyone..

Speaking Death trots over, his head tilted to one side.

"Alpha? Are you absolutely sure? If we were a pack and it was on the warpath, that might be the case.

But in a normal situation, even in a short-term fight, the alpha is more of a philodox, so as to be prepared for more situations than just combat. Or don't you have that custom where you come from?"

The grey wolf stands there with his chest out and his ears and tail erect. Not a challenge, more like advice to someone higher up.

Breaks-The-Iron-Horse's lips peeled back, revealing his massive fangs as he growled. He stepped to the side, to the body of the fallen Wyrm-monkey, reached down to pick up the corpse, then smacked its pitiful remains down in front of Speaking Death.

"Wyrm does not care for your waiting."

Speaking Death ignores the corpse before his feet.

"But Gaia is concerned with infight and bad judgement. So we have to avoid it.

Killing this one makes sense.
Combat the Wyrm Wherever It Dwells and Whenever It Breeds

Threatening other Garou when you are no longer in a frenzy does not.
Respect Those Beneath Ye - All Are of Gaia

Of course, I don't need to recite the entire litany to you; you're not a cub anymore, so you know the details. But I am happy to offer you detailed discussions on this topic when we have time and peace and quiet.

For now, I propose that we now all counsel together as independent Garou who pursue the same goal — to strengthen Gaia and fight the Wyrm."

He stands before the greater one, yet striving for calm and clarity.

"Monkey talk." Breaks-the-Iron-Horse dismissed Speaking Death's yapping for the meaningless drawn-out human sentiment it was. Red Talons never cared for the human perspective and Breaks-The-Iron-Horse was no exception. Then he looked around, growled once again, and returned to his birth-form. He padded over to the horse, licked it a few times, and then repeated it for the mangled remains of the bane-monkey. In moments, the wounds on the slain pair changed, removing any indication Garou or wolf had a part in the slaying. Instead, it seemed now that they had been hacked apart with axes, a monkey tool...

"Monkey talk, monkey do" Spirit Walker retorts. "Monkey also survives while wolf dies." he adds, with a mischievous grin. "They are prey. But the hunter must learn to think like prey to catch the prey" he looks at the other Garou, and picking up the discussion about who would be the alpha finishes adding "And monkey is weak alone, but strong together"

The grey wolf sits down on the ground as the other leaves and scratches behind his ear with his hind leg. He has learned that there is no point in talking behind someone's back. And he knows the wolfish point of view very well.

He wonders whether this Garou would follow the litany if it came down to it, but it would be premature to judge him based on a first encounter. When the next one addresses this topic, he listens attentively at first. He nods his ears in agreement, but takes his words in a different direction:

"All creatures of this world are of Gaia, but more than a few are corrupted. But how this came about, a wordsmith and singer will be able to explain better than I can.

We are among the few who serve her, and there is a reason why we are here. Only the blind speak of coincidences."